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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 






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THE 



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RELIGION IN THE SOUL 

ILLUSTRATED IN A COURSF OF 

SERIOUS AND PRACTICAL ADDRESSES 

SUITED TO PERSONS 

Of every Character and Circumstance t 

WITH A 

DEVOUT MEDITATION, OR PRAYER, 

SUBJOINED TO EACH CHAPTER. 



BY PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D. 



PUBLISHED BY 



THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. 

D. Tanihiw, Prlnttr. 



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Unp96 



031625 



CONTENTS 



- 21 

25 



37 



/ 



I 



Preface - *' ' - - - 5 

Chap, i.— The introduction to 
the work, with some gen- 
eral account of its design - 9 
A prayer for the success of it, 
in promoting the rise and < 
progress of religion 

Chap. ii. — The careless sinner 

awakened - 

The meditation of a sinner, 

who was once thoughtless, 

but begins to be awakened 

Chap, iii.— The awakened sin- 
ner urged to immediate 
consideration, and caution- 
ed against delay - 41 
A prayer for one who is 
tempted to delay applying 
to religion, though under 
some conviction of its im- 
portance - - - - 50 

Chap. iv. — The sinner arraign- 
ed and convicted - - 53 
The confession of a sinner, 
convinced in general of his 
guilt - - - - 65 

Chap, v.— The sinner stripped 
of his vain pleas - 69 

The meditation of a convinc- 
ed sinner, giving up his 
vain pleas before God - 81 

Chap. vi. — The sinner sentenced 84 
The reflection of a sinner, 
struck with the terror of 
his sentence - - - 93 

Chap, vii — The helpless state 
of the sinner under con- 
demnation 97 
The lamentation of a sinner 
in this miserable condition 104 

Chap. viii. — News of salvation 
by ChrUt brought to the 
convinced and condemned 
sinner - - - - 107 
The sinner's reflection on 
this good news - 115 

Chap. ix. — A more particular 
account of the way by which 
this salvation is to be ob- 
tained - - - 118 
The sinner deliberating on the 
expediency of falling in with 
this method of salvation -129 



Chap, x.— The sinner seriously 
urged and entreated to ac- 
cept of salvation in this way 138 
The sinner yielding to these 
entreaties, and declaring his 
acceptance of salvation by 
Christ - - - - 140 
hap. xi. — A solemn address to 
those who will not be per- 
7 <$ suaded to fall in with the 
i design of the Gospel - 143 

A compassionate prayer, in 
' behalf of the impenitent 

- sinner .... 160 
Chap. xii. — An address to a soul 
overwhelmed with a 
sense of the greatness of its 
sins, that it dares not apply 
itself to Christ with any 
hope of salvation - -164 
Reflection on the encourage- 
ments he has to do it, end- 
ing in an humble and ear- 
nest application to Christ 
for mercy - 170 

Chap, xiii.— The doubting soul 
£ more particularly assisted 
j in its inquiries as to the 
'*t sincerity of its faith and re- 
7 * pentance - - - 174 

The soul submitting to divine 
examination the sincerity 
of its repentance and faith 182 
Chap. xiv. — A more particular 
view of the several branches 
of the Christian temper ; by 
which the reader may be 
further assisted In judging 
what he is, and what he 
should endeavor to be - 186 
A review of the several bran- 
ches of this temper, , in a 
scriptural prayer - - 205 

Chap. xv. — The reader remind- 
ed how much be needs the 
assistance of the Spirit of 
God to form him to this 
temper, and what encou- 
ragement he has to expect it 210 
An humble supplication for 
the influences of divine 
grace to form and strength- 
en religion in the soul - 217 






Ca*r in —The CkriaUaa roe- 
»#ri «ara«d of, and anima- 
ted ■ffeiaat, tbaao di» 
rifiMoti wbtck be «MI 
•ipcct to meet wbea eeter- 
mj on a rellfiooe coerae HO 
Tke toul. alarmed by • mom 
oTlbmdiOc 
tioff ilaelf to ditute 
lioo 



re la pee into teeera tad titv 
tin, after eotema 
of dedicatee U GeeL 







i».i,— TheChri.tianurf- Cbrtettee eatier fte kleaf 

•di' ofGod'ttace 

eiprea. art o( aelf dedice- "> As kl 

10 the imitr of Uod • 2**J OM 

Ae example Cell . i , Ge*J*» free • 

TofethT with inibilrtct of wW. x»* — Tb« Chnatia* etruf ■ 

- •..<-,! »,i'i proper * rim* under great and keaey 

tffl ; 3€l 

uader tke 
pn HN wf keaTj aaaartkaa Ml 
Chat, tm - 1 . ae- 

tulrd iu ciamininf lato hit 

I th in (race - 371. 

i brealkjaf ear } 

ne»- . id rrere MT> 

CtUf. inn — The edranced 

I - < ' . • ' < -.. I : r 

lofG 

rctsa of habi- 
tual I j»c to him, awl joy 1a 
him 

the 



aud rr.j < 






-On com lau nion in 




-1 


A (>ra> t 1 






to atti 

majning doublt cot) 

bit rirbt lo that aol<-: 

dinancr - - 2jJ 

mx — *otae ■ore parti- 
cular Jirci liotit lor maiu- 
taiaiof cotitiaual comni . 
nion •"iiir in 

In* frar all the da) lotif , in a 
a let! m'D'I - 25© ' 

t An example of the 
rxr I- ha. taken at we lie »in*a of iku 

dowi i iod - 

t'Htr.xx.— A »rnou» perauatire —Tke 

to MhI *n urfatj to • 

iDfour . m himaelf for purpoeaeof 

\ pr 

a aoul arte lung* to Ml 

ill* ■ . 290 morr exteiieive eearataeea 415 

C'n*r. < v \ | i i ai- • • i I 

rartooj by 

•rfai . • ri 

may bt It] from 

before re<.. 

UJrnU . . SM 

Tbe yooor o.nxrrt'* (>r 

thr danger of lhr*<- mar. • 

I 
Itlil ilrrav and languor la 

: r our umler 
r.lua! .'• ■ »<, « 
' . || I 



ass 



jotciof intbarie 
aodju . 114 

Ttv 

s» armed with iheae proe- 
pe<-t» - 43C 

.ii I r « • atiaa. bo- 

I J lut dying 

A meditation and prayer tuit 
. 
n 
Hnrf aotioa of the LUk of l>. 









PREFACE. 



The several hints given in the first chapter of this 
Treatise, which contains a particular plan of the design, 
render it unnecessary to introduce it with a long pre- 
face. My much honored friend, Dr. Watts, had laid 
the scheme, especially of the former part. But as those 
indispositions with which God has been pleased to ex- 
ercise him had forbid his hopes of being able to add 
this to his many labors of love to immortal souls, he 
was pleased, in a very affectionate and importunate 
manner, to urge me to undertake it. And I bless God 
with my whole heart, not only that he hath carried me 
through this delightful task, (for such indeed I have 
found it,) but also that he hath spared that worthy and 
amiable person to see it accomplished, and given him 
strength and spirit to review so considerable a part of 
it His approbation, expressed in stronger terms than 
modesty will permit me to repeat, encourages me to 
hope that it is executed in such a manner as may, by 
the Divine blessing, render it of some general service. 
And I the rather hope it will be so, as it now comes 
abroad into the world, not only with my own prayers 
and his, but also with those of many other pious friends, 
which I have been particularly careful to engage for its 
success. 

1 # 



6 fRli 

Into whatever hands this work may come, I inusr 

I that, before any pass* their judgment upon it, 
they w..uld please lo reed it through, that they may 
discern |h< rt of it and an- 

other ; which I the rather n onent, necause I hare long 
1 Terent parties have been 

nv laying /)<-.' .'ar parts of the system 

1 \ me truth, ind have been em, 

as if each had been all ; or as if the separation of 
member- from each Oil • '-ad, were 

reservation of the body, fir* fl • « traction. 

Tin n zealous to espouse the defence, and to 

maintain me honor and nsnfulnoni of each apart- 
itow the honor, mesa, seems to 

me to lie much in their connection, and suspicions 

often arisen betwixt ihe 

ppch, which have appeared as unreasonable and absurd 

ii u" all the prepnrntkNM fot securing one part of a ship 

in a stnnn wt re to • Mnft 

the met I ; raj God lo i end 

nd more of the spirit of wisdom, and of 

IHd Of | tOnnd mind • and to remove far 
those uuitual animosities which } mdet 

our iCting with that unanimity wl 
order to me successfiu carrying i 
warfare against the enemies of Christian. w We insy 
be sur" tin <e enemies will never la:, to make their own 
advantage of OUT multiplied divisions :.nd severe con- 
tests with each other. IUit they must necessarily lose 

■nth mi ir pomd ind their mfrnm ;>ortion to 

the decree m which the imr:". of Christian principles 



PREFACE. 7 

is felt to unite and transform the heart of those by 
whom they are professed. 

I have studied in this Treatise the greatest plainness 
of speech, that the lowest of my readers may, if pos- 
sible, be able to understand every word ; and I hope 
persons of a more elegant taste and refined education 
will pardon what appeared to me so necessary a piece 
of charity. Such a care in practical writings seems one 
important instance of that honoring all men, which our 
amiable and condescending religion teaches us ; and I 
have been particularly obliged to my worthy patron 
for what he has done to shorten some of the sentences, 
and to put my meaning into plainer and more familiar 
words. 

I must add one remark here, which I heartily wish I 
had not omitted in the first edition, viz. That though 
I do in this book consider my reader as successively 
n a great variety of supposed circumstances, begin- 
ning with those of a thoughtless sinner, and leading 
him through several stages of conviction, terror, &c. 
as what may be previous to his sincerely accepting the 
Gospel, and devoting himself to the service of God ; 
yet I would by no means be thought to insinuate, thai 
every one who is brought to that happy resolution, ar- 
rives at it through those particular steps, or feels agita- 
tions of mind equal in degree to those I have described. 
Some sense of sin, and some serious and humbling ap- 
prehension of our danger and misery in consequence 
of it, must indeed be necessary to dispose us to receive 
the grace of the Gospel, and the Saviour who is there 
exhibited to our faith. But God is pleased sometimes 
to begin the work of his grace in the heart almost from 



8 PREFACE 

the first dawning of reason, and to i 
gent • rees, thai very excellent per- 

wtiD have made the moat eminent attainments in 
the l' been unable I 

markahle hi-torv of Iheil n. And so far as I 

IH with thoee 
Of thetJ who have H benefit of a pious educa- 

tion, when a ! "1 by a vicious and 

Ueentioof youth. God forbid, therefore, that u 
he S" own happiness as to fall 

t-xity with relation* ritual state, for want 

of being able to trace such i 

minds- as it was necessary on my plan for me to de- 
scribe and exemplify here. I have spoken my ■ 
ments on this head so fully in the eighth of my B 
monson Regeneration, that I think none who has read 

ami remeeaben the general i 4 it can I • 

danger of mistaking my BMOJlinf |: .1 as it m 

\f rv possible this book may fall into the hands of many 
who have not read the other, and i. 
of consulting it. 1 thought it | nsert this cau- 

tion in the preface to this ; ami I am much i 
that worthy and excellent person who kindly remind- 
ed me of the expediency of doing it. 

Philip DoDOeJOea, 



THS 

RISE AND PROGRESS 

OF 

RELIGION IN THE SOUL. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE INTRODUCTION TO THE "WORK, WITH SOME GENERAL 
ACCOUNT OF ITS DESIGN. 

1. 2. That true religion is very rare, appears from comparing 
the nature of it with the lives and characters of men around 
us. — 3. The want of it, matter of just lamentation. — i. To 
remedy this evil is the design of the ensuing Treatise. — 5. 6. 
To which, therefore, the Author earnestly bespeaks the atten- 
tion of the reader, as his own heart is deeply interested in it. 
— 7. to 12. A general plan of the Work; of which the first 
fifteen chapters relate chiefly to the Rise of Religion, and the 
remaining chapters to its Progress. — Prayer for the success 
of the Work. 

1. When we look around us with an attentive 
eye, and consider the characters and pursuits of men, 
we plainly see, that though, in the original constitu- 
tion of their natures, they only, of all the creatures 
that dwell on the face of the earth, are capable of 
religion, yet many of them shamefully neglect it. 
A.nd whatever different notions people may entertain 



IC A I . 

ri, all must agree in owning 
that it is very far from being a universal thing. 

i its most 
•enst- ■ : ' I the soul, and such a conviction of 

our obligations to him, and of our dependence upon 
him, as shall engage us tu make it our great care to 
conduct ourselves in a i rea- 

Pf, \vh#n 
11 by 
DO D 

tlir i.ations to 

ra to it. \\ 
riewthec < ia!ity of people at h< 

in a Christian and Protestant nation, in 
whom o. .-.lost 

■ 

rsal 
na I \\ ippoaaj that it 

prai 

Alas! ti. infidelity, tin- profanation oi 

name end day of I • Iteemeaa, the !• 

. the injustice, the I 
lity, the base selrlshi 
it the apiriraal end eternal intereed 

ami Othere, which .so 

■ 
una . that th' 

\0bo\ I . rather the 



RELIGION NOT UNIVERSAL 11 

proach. And where is the neighborhood, where is 
the society, where is the happy family, consisting 
of any considerable number, in which, on a more 
exact examination, we find reason to say, " religion 
fills even this little circle?" There is, perhaps, a 
freedom from any gross and scandalous immoralities, 
an external decency of behavior, an attendance on 
the outward forms of worship in public, and, here 
and there, in the family ; yet amidst all this, there is 
nothing which looks like the genuine actings of the 
spiritual and divine life. There is no appearance of 
love to God, no reverence of his presence, no desire 
of his favor as the highest good : there is no cordial 
belief of the Gospel of salvation ; no eager solicitude 
to escape that condemnation which we have incurred 
by sin ; no hearty concern to secure that eternal life 
which Christ has purchased and secured for his peo- 
ple, and which he freely promises to all who will 
receive him. Alas ! whatever the love of a friend, 
or even a parent can do ; whatever inclination there 
may be to hope all things, and believe all things 
the most favorable, evidence to the contrary will 
force itself upon the mind, and extort the unwilling 
conclusion, that, whatever else may be amiable in 
this dear friend — in that favorite child — " religion 
dwells not in his breast." 

3. To a heart that firmly believes the Gospel, and 
views persons and things in the light of eternity, 
this is one of the most mournful considerations in 



VI the was r m ; imid 

the world. And indeed, to such a one, all other 
calamities and evils of human nature appear trifles, 
when compar- is — the absence of real reli- 

gion, and that co:. it which reigns in so 

may thousands of i I ired, and 

all t r : evils will easily be borne ; nay, good 

will be n it of them. But if this cont: 

k M bringeth furth fruit unto death ;'' (Ho: 
and . 

entertainments of an indulge! h us, 

and are at least tilled ' " bond of the same 

common natu r »-pt away 

into utter destruction, and be plunged, beyond re- 
demption, into everlasting burnings. 

4. I doubt not but there are many, under the vari- 
ous forms of religious profession, who are not onl> 
lamenting this m public, if their . life call* 

them to an opportunity of doing It; but are likewise 
mourning before God in secret, under a sense of 
had state of tilings ; and who 

searches all hearts, as to the i >ires 

vive the langnishin miry 

.-ub«'.:miial piety. And among the rest, the au- 
thor of ti t say, it is this 
wUeh arumaU-.N him to th I the 
mfidftejfl | and labors. For this he 
is willing to lay aside many <>t "those curious am 

huh might suit his own private 
taste, and p.-rhaps open I P. reputution 



THE AUTHOR ? S DESIGN. 13 

in the learned world. For this he is willing to wave 
the labored ornaments of speech, that he may, if pos- 
sible, descend to the capacity of the lowest part of 
mankind. For this he would endeavor to convince 
the judgment, and to reach the heart of every reader : 
and, in a word, for this, without any dread of the 
name of an enthusiast, whoever may at random throw 
it out upon the occasion, he would, as it were, enter 
with you into your closet, from day to day ; and with 
all plainness and freedom, as well as seriousness, 
would discourse to you of the great things which he 
has learned from the Christian revelation, and on 
which he assuredly knows your everlasting happi- 
ness to depend ; that, if you hitherto have lived with- 
out religion, you may be now awakened to the con- 
sideration of it, and may be instructed in its nature 
and importance ; or that, if you are already, through 
Divine grace, experimentally acquainted with it, you 
may be assisted to make a farther progress. 

5. But he earnestly entreats this favor of you 
that, as it is plainly a serious business we are enter- 
ing upon, you would be pleased to give him a sen 
ous and an active hearing. He entreats that these 
addresses, and these meditations, may be perused at 
leisure, and be thought over in retirement ; and that 
you would do him and yourself the justice to be- 
lieve the representations which are here made, and 
the warnings which are here given, to proceed from 
sincerity and love, from a heart that would not de- 

2 R. & Progress. 



14 i n> M . 

sign* . vsary r>i 

dmmmK Tenure on ihe faceol ::.•• earth, ami much 
lea I 

• • . 
art 

solute an . 

case of ft fall. 

II not to be called 

of his fellow 

without ut his soul unto t: 

r»* in the pow- 

his hand to help them. b would I 

• could go about from j 

. 
mortal life. But '.: 
ness rises in \ 

<>od which he imparts I I 

honored servanta i 
in the early da 

instruments of 
lous 

plea- 

tho powers o: his is an 

hon 



PLAN OF THE WORK. . 15 

monly to bestow on mortal men. Yet there have 
been, in every age, and blessed be his name, there 
still are those whom he has condescended to make 
his instruments in conveying nobler and more last- 
ing blessings than these to their fellow-creatures. 
Death has long since veiled the eyes and stopped 
the ears of those who were the subjects of miracu- 
lous healing, and recovered its empire over those 
who were once recalled from the grave. But the 
souls who are prevailed upon to receive the Gospel, 
live for ever. God has owned the labors of his faith- 
ful miniscers in every age to produce these blessed 
effects ; and some of them " being dead, yet speak " 
(Heb. 11 : 4,) with power and success in this im- 
portant cause. Wonder not then, if, living and dy- 
ing, I be ambitious of this honor; and if my mouth 
be freely opened, where I can truly say, " my heart 
is enlarged." 2 Cor. 6:11. 

7. In forming my general plan, I have been soli- 
citous that this little treatise might, if possible, be 
useful to all its readers, and contain something suit- 
able to each. I will therefore take the man and the 
Christian in a great variety of circumstances. I 
will first suppose myself addressing one of the vast 
number of thoughtless creatures who have hitherto 
been utterly unconcerned about religion, and will try 
what can be done, by all plainness and earnestness 
of address, to awaken him from this fatal lethargy, to 
a care, (chap. 2,) an affectionate and an immediate 



i'j II \ I «>l 1 II L WORK. 

em about it. (chap 3 ) I will labor to fix ft deep 

and : guilt upon his conscience, 

;> 4.) and to >•.: use* and 

I will read to him, 
I • that ffrtfnr^. tha\ 

uiful sentence, wh. teous and an Al- 

ii against him as ft sin- 
him in how 
hel pleas a stai< r this condemnation 

.f. (chap 
7.) But 1 do : terrible a 

situation: I will joyfully proclaim the glad tidings 
of pardon ami salvation by Chris! Jeans our Lord, 
which is all th< rt and confidence of ny offB 

soul. ('•!. I will giv»- BCSjsd 

new of the way by which this salvation is to be ob- 
arging ihe sinner to accept of it 

as a: 1 -an ; (chftp. 10.) though 

thing can be Mini 

matter, the lit" of an immortal soul ii in question. 
8. Too probable it ii ti. 1 this, 

P-inain : and tin r 

ncamber tin* following articlea, 1 shall • 

a >ol. inn Irave vl then ind then 

shall turn and . ISmOfjatal] 

I can. t>» a in 1 mean, to a 

aoul Imed with atness o! 

its sins, and trembling under 
were do more hope for bim in Uod. (cb 



PLAN OF THE WORK. 17 

that nothing may be omitted which may give solid 
peace to the troubled spirit, I shall endeavor to guide 
its inquiries as to the evidences of sincere repentance 
and faith; (chap. 13,) which will be farther illustra- 
ted by a more particular view of the several branches 
of the Christian temper, such as may serve at once 
to assist the reader in judging what he is, and to 
show him what he should labor to be. (chap. 14.) 
This will naturally lead to a view of the need we 
have of the influences of the blessed Spirit to assist 
us in the important and difficult work of the true 
Christian, and of the encouragement we have to 
hope for such divine assistance, (chap. 15.) In an 
humble dependence on which, I shall then enter on 
the consideration of several cases which often occur 
in the Christian life, in which particular addresses 
to the conscience may be requisite and useful. 

9. As some peculiar difficulties and discourage- 
ments attend the first entrance on a religious course, 
it will here be our first care to animate the young 
convert against them. (chap. 16.) And that it may 
be done more effectually, I shall urge a solemn dedi- 
cation of himself to God, (chap. 17,) to be confirmed 
by entering into a communion of the church, and an 
approach to the sacred table, (chap. 18.) That these 
engagements may be more happily fulfilled, we shall 
endeavor to draw a more particular plan of that de- 
vout, regular and accurate course, which ought daily 
to be attended to. (chap. 19.) And because the idea 



m \ i \s 01 m work. 

will probably rise so ma r than what is the 

ral practi I good n< 

deavor to persuade the reader to i attempt, 

hard as it may seem. (chap. 20,) and shai. 

ti^ainst various temptations, which might ot 

him aside to negligence and sin (chap. 

W.J 

IQl II . ,c lnese , 

. ith becoming 
regard ; but as it is, alas ! too probable I ;th- 

ill, the infirmities ol 

dl consider the case of deadness and 
ioi in religion, which « ■:• i upon us by 

.:.) from when 

is too i thai terrible oa "irn 

:i and d- 1 as 

thai of these U : roportionable 

to provoke the blessed God to hide his *. 
and his injured Spirit to withdraw, that melancholy 
condition will b«- taken into parties Map 

24.) I shall then tak real 

and heavy afflictions in life, l:ne 

which the heal of men hare reaao 

. when they backslide from God and yield to 
theii spiritual enem 

11. Instances of this kind will. I 

• I trust, there Will be many • hoM 

path, like the dawni tt, will " shine n 

unto the | 



PLAN OF THE WORK 19 

fore we shall endeavor, in the best manner we can, 
to assist the Christian in passing a true judgment on 
the growth of grace in his heart, (chap. 26,) as we 
had done before in judging of its sincerity. And as 
nothing conduces more to the advancement of grace 
than the lively exercise of love to God, and a holy 
joy in him, we shall here remind the real Christian 
of those mercies which tend to excite that love and 
joy ; (chap. 27,) and in the view of them to animate 
him to those vigorous efforts of usefulness in life, 
which so well become his character, and will have so 
happy an efficacy in brightening his crown, (chap. 
28.) Supposing him to act accordingly, we shall 
then labor to illustrate and assist the delight with 
which he may look forward to the awful solemnities 
of death and judgment, (chap. 29.) And shall close 
the scene by accompanjnng him, as it were, to the 
nearest confines of that dark valley through which 
he is to pass to glory ; giving him such directions as 
may seem most subservient to his honoring God and 
adorning religion by his dying behavior, (chap. 30.) 
Nor am I without a pleasing hope, that, through the 
Divine blessing and grace, I may be, m some in- 
stances, so successful as to leave those triumphing in 
the ^views of judgment and eternity, and glorifying 
God by a truly Christian life and death, whom I 
found trembling in the apprehensions of future mis- 
ery ; or, perhaps, m a much more dangerous and 
miserable condition than that ; T mean, entirely for- 



20 THE WOIX. 

getting the prospect, and sunk in the most stupid in- 

ibility of those things, for an attendance to « 
the human mind was f I in comparison of 

pursuits of this transitory life are 
ind lighter than a fentl. 
- 
ham: 
in the hulk o* I 

which the truths i pro- 

defended and 
im;ir ill of pro- 

il] here apeak in a looser and freer man- 

i do if I 

I 

I 

r of this tr 
\ 

hich will i !fan 

II, as it v. \n to 

I r my 

■ 



PRAYER FOR SUCCESS OF THE WORK: 21 

tion of an entire dependence upon it. And I am well 
persuaded that sentiments like these are common, 
in the general, to every faithful minister, to every 
real Christian. 

A Prayer for the Success of this Work, in promoting the Rise 
and Progress of Religion. 

" O thou great eternal Original, and Author of all 
created being and happiness ! I adore thee, who hast 
made man a creature capable of religion, and hast 
bestowed this dignity and felicity upon our nature, 
that it may be taught to say, Where is God our ma- 
ker 1 Job, 35 : 10. I lament that degeneracy spread 
over the whole human race, which has "turned our 
glory into shame," (Hos. 4 : 7,) and has rendered the 
forge tfuln ess of God, unnatural as it is, so common 
and so universal a disease. Holy Father, we know 
it is thy presence, and thy teaching alone, that can 
reclaim thy wandering children, can impress a sense 
of Divine things on the heart, and render that sense 
lasting and effectual. From thee proceed all good 
purposes and desires ; and this desire, above all, of 
diffusing wisdom, piety, and happiness in this world ; 
which (though sunk in such deep apostacy) thine 
infinite mercy has not utterly forsaken. 

M Thou ' knowest, O Lord, the hearts of the chil- 
dren of men ;' (2 Chron. 6 : 30 ;) and an upright soul, 
in the midst of all the censures and suspicions it may 
meet with, rejoices in thine intimate knowledge of 



■ ric 
Of 

spel, 

m 8 a!1 l ' Ihou 

• 

oun- 

tnd so causing 

MTOwfo] eoodnew, dis- 

" ri '"~ h } I :hat, 

■ 
ng health 

■ 

LI . 



PRAYER FOR SUCCESS OF THE WORK. 23 

" O may it have that blessed influence on the per- 
son, whosoever he be, that is now reading these 
lines, and all who may read or hear them ! Let not 
my Lord be angry if I presume to ask, that, how- 
ever weak and contemptible this work may seem in 
the eyes of the children of this world, and however 
imperfect it really be, as well as the author of it un- 
worthy, it may nevertheless live before thee ; and, 
through a divine power, be mighty to produce the 
rise and progress of religion in the minds of multi- 
tudes in distant places, and in generations yet to 
come ! Impute it not, God, as a culpable ambition, 
if I desire that, whatever becomes of my name, about 
which I would not lose one thought before thee, this 
work, to which I am now applying myself in thy 
strength, may be completed and propagated far 
abroad : that it may reach to those that are yet un- 
born, and teach them thy name and thy praise, when 
the author has long dwelt in the dust ; that so, when 
he shall appear before thee ill the great day of final 
account, his joy may be increased, and his crown 
brightened, by numbers before unknown to each 
other, and to him ! But if this petition be too great 
to be granted to one who pretends no claim but thy 
sovereign grace to hope for being favored with the 
least, give him to be, in thine Almighty hand, the 
blessed instrument of converting and saving one 
soul ; and if it be but one, and that the weakest and 
meanest of thos8 who are capable of receiving this 



- 1 PAAtsi roi ivccim 01 rai worn. 

address, it shall !>e most thankfully accepted as a 
rich | dm fur all l bt und labor it may 

it should be amidst a thousand 
disappointments u 'hall 

of immortal songs of praise to thee, O 
blessed God, for and bj 

the blood of Jesus and the grace of thy Spirit, thou 
'ing honors shall be ascribed 
lo ti. and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 

by the innumerable company of angels, and by the 
general assembly and church of the first-born in 
en. Amen.'" 



CARLESS SINNER AWAKENED. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE CARELESS SINNER AWAKENED. 

t. 2 It is loo supposable a case tiiat this Treatise may come 
into such hands. — 3. 4. Since many, n#t grossly vicious, fall 
under that cliaracter. — 5. 6. a more particular illustration 
of this case, with an appeal to the reader, wh ther it be not his 
own. "9. Expostulation with such. — 10 to 12. More pay 

titular^ "m acknowledged principles relating to the 

Nature oj ' ' universal presence, agency, and peifec- 

tion. — 13. Fron of vcrsonal obligations to him. — 14. 

From the dange r * when considered in its as- 

pect on a future str "il to the conscience as 

already convinced.- ' subject of the next 

cho.pter.— The mcdita. ^ing been long 

thoughtless, begins to be 

1. Shamefully?) 

eo \e world, yet 
cere ^s, chile 1 

S this # 

bu 

iaithi. 
tural et 
service, c 
into no hands 
easier, and more . 



MANY MOl DEOll 

the thousands that i 
it i> >t that a- : ;<Jert 

I fleeted « it li 

ft, as 

well as i 

in the hr-t pla • to* 

. 

DM under 

nation 01 

. . 1 v ■ ■ I 

phy>: 

murder those whom the 

no harsh and uur- 
charge you •»»•• 

—an- 
who* 



y 

M that vou 
1, and the 



MEDITATION OF A SINNER. 37 

And I hope to convince you when I have another 
hearing", that it is necessary to do it immediately, 
and that next to the madness of resolving you will 
not think of religion at all, is that of saying you 
will think of it hereafter. In the meantime, pause 
on the hints which have been already given, and 
they will prepare you to receive what is to be added 
on that head. 

The Meditation of a Sinner who was once thoughtless, bta 
begins to be aicakened. 

" Awake, O my forgetful soul, awake from these 
wandering dreams. Turn thee from this chase of 
vanity, and for a little while be persuaded, by all 
these considerations, to look forward, and to look 
upward, at least for a few moments. Sufficient are 
the hours and days given to the labors and amuse- 
ments of life. Grudge not a short allotment of mi- 
nutes, to view thyself and thine own more immediate 
concerns : to reflect who and what thou art, how it 
comes to pass that thou art here, and what thou must 
quickly be ! 

" It is indeed as thou hast seen it now represented. 
O my soul ! thou art the creature of God, formed 
and furnished by him, and lodged in a body which 
he provided, and which he supports ; a body in which 
he intends thee only a transitory abode. O ! think 
how soon this 'tabernacle' must be 'dissolved,' (2 
Cor. 5:1,) and thou must ' return to God.' Eccles. 

. R. St. Progress. 



Ml: | | B. 

I J E rnai. 

glorious i 
of all r< and 

OB of 

I 

■ 

)lll, wh.r 
ami!. 
D 

" O thou injur 
when I think but for a moment or • U thy 

which ha 
I 
to lift op i 

I I the 

thai ' I hav< ■ r 
21. Ami 

its b . 

on I l 

ild be all 

that 

othei . \ 



WHO BEGINS TO BE AWAKENED. 39 

ed, that I have hardly ever seriously asked my own 
heart what it is. I know, if matters rest here, I 
perish ; yet I feel in my perverse- nature a secret 
indisposition to pursue these thoughts; a proneness, 
if not entirely to dismiss them, yet to lay them aside 
for the present. My mind is perplexed and divided ; 
but I am sure, thou, who madest me, knowest what 
is best for me. I therefore beseech thee that thou 
wilt, ' for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me.' 
Psal. 31:3. Let me not delay till it is for ever too 
late. ' Pluck me as a brand out of the burning !' 
Amos, 4:11. O break this fatal enchantment that 
holds down my affection to objects which mv judg- 
ment comparatively despises ! and let me, at length, 
come into so happy a state of mind that I may not 
be afraid to think of thee and of myself, and may 
not be tempted to wish that thou hadst not made me, 
or that thou couldst for ever forget me ; that it may 
not be my best hope, to perish like the brutes. 

" If what I shall farther read here be agreeable to 
truth and reason, if it be calculated to promote my 
happiness, and is to be regarded as an intimation of 
thy will and pleasure to me, O God, let me hear and 
obey! Let the words of thy servant, When pleading 
thy cause, be like goads to pierce into my mind ! 
and let me rather feel, and smart, than die ! Let them 
be 'as nails fastened in a sure place;' (Eccl. 12; 
4.) that whatever mysteries as yet unknown, or 
whatever difficulties there be in religion, if it be ne« 



MI : * 

imnrnii.r- I 

I • 

thc5e br< 

I and 
ntraclahle as I, am: 
D unto A 
A 






REGARD TO RELIGION URGED. 41 



CHAPTER III. 



THE AWAKENED SINNER URGED TO IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION 
AND CAUTIONED AGAINST DELAY. 

1. Sinners, when av:akened, inclined to dismiss convictions for 
the present. — 2. An immediate regard to religion urged. — 3. 
From the excellence and pleasure of the thing itself. — 4. 
From the uncertainty of that future time on which sinners 
presume, compared with the sad consequences of being cut off 
in sin. — 5. From the immutability of God's present de- 
mands. — 6. From the tendency which delay has to make a 
compliance with these demands more difficult than it is at 
present. — 7. From the danger of God's withdrawing his 
Spirit, compared with the dreadful case of a sinner given 
up by it. — 8. Which probably is now the case of many. — 9. 
Since, therefore, on the whole, whatever the event be, delays 
may prove matter of lamentation. — 10. The chapter con- 
cludes with an exhortation against yielding to them ; and a 
prayer against temptations of that kind. 

1. I hope my last address so far awakened the 
convictions of my reader, as to bring him to this pur- 
pose, " that some time or other he would attend to 
religious considerations." But give me leave to ask, 
earnestly and pointedly, When shall that be? " Go 
thy way for this time, when I have a convenient sea- 
son I will call for thee," (Acts, 24 : 25,) was the 
4* 



ri. 

ilitions o 

irry 
suc- 

! w 

• . and out of your 

:. soul, I would not willifl 

up with such .t dismission sn I —no, not 

though you shall fix ;i time ; lb 
termine <>u ii.- r, or month, pi 

I (TOold turn upon you, with all the • 

to briny the matter to sn i 

I will think 
ill have little hope; and :t all 

that 1 hare hitherto ur. 

9 When I ini 

.■in, it in 
cessarv tor me all' 

regard and compli- 

10 Well v. 

SO wise, that one would in; - tako 



UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 43 

fire, as it were, at the first hearing of it ; yea, that so 
delightful a view should presently possess your 
whole soul with a kind of indignation against your- 
self that you pursued it no sooner. — " May I lift up 
my eyes and my soul to God ! May I devote my- 
self to him ! May I even now commence a friend- 
ship w r ith him — a friendship which shall last for 
ever, the security, the delight, the glory of this im- 
mortal nature of mine ! And shall I draw back and 
say, Nevertheless, let me not commence this friend- 
ship too soon : let me live at least a few weeks or a 
few days longer without God in the world ?" Surely 
it would be much more reasonable to turn inward, 
and say, "O my soul, on what vile husks hast thou 
been feeding, while thy Heavenly Father has been 
forsaken and injured? Shall I desire to multiply the 
days of my poverty, my scandal, and my misery ?" 
On this principle, surely an immediate return to God 
should in all reason be chosen, rather than to play 
the fool any longer, and go on a little more to dis- 
please God, and thereby starve and wound your own 
soul ! even though your continuance in life were 
ever so certain, and your capacity to return to God 
and your duty ever so entirely in your power, now, 
and in every future moment, through scores of years 
yet to come. 

4. But who and what are you, that you should 
lay your account for years or for months to come 1 
" What is your life ? Is it not even as a vapor, that 



41 

upper 

I, 1 11. 

u should thus de- 
that 

soul 

►f them wl . too soon 

talk thus. 

think o! 
10 those graves in which 
B of y<»ur 

with life, i 

■ 
that them in their 

tod • 

and • bor- 

\ 

mourning v bich j 

! 

. .; 



DYING UNPREPARED. 45 

great change, or thoughtless of it, have made their 
appearance before God, and are at this moment fixed, 
either in heaven or in hell. Now let me seriously 
ask you, would it be miraculous, or would it be 
strange, if such an event should befall you ? How 
are you sure that some fatal disease will not this 
day begin to work in your veins? How are you 
sure that you shall ever be capable of reading or 
thinking any more, if you do not attend to what 
you now read, and pursue the thought which is 
now offering itself to your mind? This sudden 
alteration may at least possibly happen ; and if it 
does, it will be to you a terrible one indeed. To be 
thus surprised into the presence of a forgotten God; 
to be torn away, at once, from a world to which your 
whole heart and soul has been riveted — a world 
which has engrossed all your thoughts and cares, all 
3^our desires and pursuits ; and be fixed in a state 
which you never could be so far persuaded to think 
of, as to spend so much as one hour in serious prepa- 
ration for it : how must you even shudder at the appre- 
hension of it, and with what horror must it fill you ? 
It seems matter of wonder that in such circumstances 
you are not almost distracted with the thoughts of the 
uncertainty of life, and are not even ready to die for 
fear of death. To trifle with God any longer, after so 
solemn an admonition as this, would be a circum- 
stance of additional provocation, which, after all the 
rest, might be fatal : nor is there any thing you can 



V 



40 WORK I DELAY. 

♦ xpctt in such a case, but that he should cut you of! 

n at urea, 
■ hazardous oipei 
make 

-• risk? 
rpose can tl Do 

. 
necessary I 

<>r ihu 160 the 

ihod, in which b 

J will 
:. Or if ] 

^ u like a • ig.and 

. I 

. 

with promisi ;on to iinj 

I ibmit to a few < 

in the :h will 



WORK DIFFICULT BY DELAY. 47 

6 Or if his demands continue the same, as they 
assuredly will, do you think any thing which is 
now disagreeable to you in them, will be less disa- 
greeable hereafter than it is at present ? Shall you 
love to sin less, when it becomes more habitual to 
you, and when your conscience is yet more enfeebled 
and debauched? If you are running with the foot- 
men and fainting, shall you be able " to contend with 
the horsemen V Jer. 12 : 5. Surely you cannot ima- 
gine it. You would not say, in any disease which 
threatened your life, " I will stay till I grow a little 
worse, and then I will apply to a physician : I will 
let my disease get a little more rooting in my vitals, 
and then I will try what can be done to remove it." 
No, it is only where the life of the soul is concerned 
that men think thus wildly : the life and health of 
the body appear too precious to be thus trifled away. 

7. If, after such desperate experiments, you are 
ever recovered, it must be by an operation of Divine 
grace on your soul, yet. more powerful and more 
wonderful in proportion to the increasing inveteracy 
of your spiritual maladies. And can you expect that 
the Holy Spirit should be more ready to assist you, 
in consequence of your having so shamefully trifled 
with him, and affronted him? He is now, in some 
measure, moving on your heart. If you feel any se- 
cret relentings in it upon what you read, it is a sign 
that you are not yet utterly forsaken. But who can 
tell whether these are not the last touches he will 



48 iokk rnrirri.T by dllat 

to a heart so I ened against i... 

Wh D tell, but G .1 bis 

n • ' El 
l - I h !•••:• • :nme- 

'. is possible you t: 
;. ou think of a: le? Yes. 

dreadful 
a\\ and imm< 
blessed tiud i: 

let htm 1. 
prosperity and plenty; let him 111 
and lb-- most powerful ordinance! too; 

he may abuse them to aggravate bis c 
lion, and die U 1 guilt and a 

I will not give him the grace to think 

• 

ir. and * wrath come ll] 

; 
\ i think this I 

therwise. 1 . M 

whom it had I .-■-!, in 

neb 

mor. 



WORK DIFFICULT BY DELAY. 49 

9. I pretend not to say how he will deal with 
you, O reader ! whether he will immediately cut 
you off, or seal you up under final hardness and 
impenitency of heart, or whether his grace mav 
at length awaken you to consider your ways, and 
return to him, even when your heart is grown 
yet more obdurate than it is at present. For to his 
Almighty grace nothing is hard, not even to trans- 
form a rock of marble into a man or a saint. But 
this I will confidently say, that if you delay any 
longer, the time will come when you will bitterly 
repent of that delay, and either lament it before God 
in the anguish of your heart here, or curse your own 
folly and madness in hell ; yea, when you will wish, 
that, dreadful as hell is, you had rather fallen into 
it sooner, than have lived in the midst of so many 
abused mercies, to render the degree of your punish- 
ment more insupportable, and your sense of it more 
exquisitely tormenting. 

10. I do therefore earnestly exhort you, in the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the worth, 
and, if I may so speak, by the blood of your immor- 
tal and perishing soul, that you delay not a day or 
an hour longer. Far from " giving sleep to your 
eyes, or slumber to your eyelids," (Prov. 6 : 4,) in 
the continued neglect of this important concern, take 
with you, even now, il words, and turn unto the 
Lord;" (Hos. 14 : 2,) and before you quit the place 
where you now are, fall upon your knees in his sa- 

c- K. &. Progress. 



50 PRA\i:; in: 

pour out 
it least to some such purpose as i 

A I ' jot one ir\o is UmpUd to detmy applying to Religion, 

though under tone conviction of its important*. 

d of heaven 
1, 'in whose hand my breav 
i 
cow- 
intimations cr 
ins of thy will. 1 h reason to 

udore thy :hou hast 

not ! 

from the land of the livi .1 ■ thy pan- 

that 1 ha n m- 

i ■ i i i 
it that this tr i ' 
tray ime rum • and 

ruin • sd by all this ; 

I am convit: 

I 

. heart drs 

I , out 

I 

. 
ipi heart 

Jul:' in st the conviction 



PRAYER UNDER CONVICTION. 51 

merit. What shall I say? O Lord, save me from 
myself! Save me from the artifices and deceitfulness 
of sin ! Save me from the treachery of this perverse 
and degenerate nature of mine, and fix upon my 
mind what I have now been reading ! 

" O Lord, I am not now instructed in truths which 
were before quite unknown. Often have I been 
warned of the uncertainty of life, and the great un- 
certainty of the day of salvation. And I have formed 
some light purposes, and have begun to take a few 
irresolute steps in my way toward a return to thee. 
But, alas ! I have been only, as it were, fluttering 
about religion, and have never fixed upon it. All my 
resolutions have been scattered like smoke, or dis- 
persed like a cloudy vapor before the wind. O that 
thou wouldst now bring these things home to my 
heart, with a more powerful conviction than it hath 
ever yet felt? O that thou wouldst pursue me with 
ihem, even when I flee from them ! If I should even 
grow mad enough to endeavor to escape them any 
more, may thy Spirit address me in the language of 
effectual terror, and add ail the most powerful me- 
thods which thou knowest to be necessary to awaken 
me from this lethargy, which must otherwise be 
mortal ! May the sound of these things be in mine 
ears ' when I go out, and when I come in, when I 
lie down, and when I rise up !' Deut. 6 : 7. And if 
the repose of the night and the business of the day 
be for a while interrupted by the impression, be it 



MAYER INDER I 

ness h st-curc 

<>sc in ::. I 

1 roubled.' 

r . . ;: 

"OL ir of the<\ and 

1 1 am 

;n to think of 
in this critical and 

• moment, 

and blast in eternal death the I 

of it in my mind. But ( > span- D I 

;>are 
It may bo, through th\ I 

shall return. It may he, if thou com 

b while Ion . be 'tome 

r fruit prodaced by this camberer of th< 
Lake, 18 . 7, 8. And may the r- 
hich thou 
rda ni-'. prevent mv continuing to trifle with * 
and with my own BOttl! From this ,\. <» I 
from this hour, from this m I 

• lasting impressions of i 

upon my heart 
tref n I that I have he u \ 



SINNER CONVICTED. 53 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SINNER ARRAIGNED AND CONVICTED. 

1. Conviction of guilt necessary. — 2. A charge of rebellion 
against God advanced. — 3. Where it is shown — that all men 
are born tinder God's law. — 4. That no man hath perfectly 
kept it. — 5. An appeal to the reader's conscience on this head } 
that he hath not. — 6. That to have broken it, is an evil inex- 
pressibly great. — 7. Illustrated by a more particular view of 
the aggravations of this guilt, arising— from knowledge. — 8. 
From divine favors received. — 9. From convictions of con~ 
science overborne. — 10. From the strivings of Goo's Spirit 
resisted. — 11. From vows and resolutions broken. — 12. The 
charges summed up, and left upon the sinner's conscience. — 
The sinner's confession under a general conviction of guilt. 

1. As I am attempting to lead you to true religion, 
and not merely to some superficial form of it, I am 
sensible I can do it no otherwise than in the way of 
deep humiliation. And therefore, supposing you are 
persuaded, through the divine blessing on what you 
have before read, to take it into consideration, I 
would now endeavor, in the first place, with all the 
seriousness I can, to make you heartily sensible of 
your guilt before God. For I well know, that, un- 
less ycu are convinced of this, and affected with the 
conviction, all the provisions of Gospel grace will be 
slighted, and your soul infallibly destroyed, in the 
5* 



r » \ MN i ED. 

midst of the noblest means appointed for its reco\ 
I rsuaded that thousands live and die in 

a cc 

.:ully with yon, tin- i deal 

il not to give law to an- 

i which t 
' rmit me 

. 

chtrgt th< •• ■ uli doUud 

- 
: ■. vr thou may< 

im ; 11 thy Mtt IT©W arnon. 
thine arm wi ; 

•-an- 
ry thou Bhoal I, and told plainly, thou 

iws of tin- King of k 
: ihem art ! 
mnaiion. 

I >d, 1 orn • 
sable obligation* of his la . . I 

i i>\ youi hieh 

you | 

tun i b i' 



SINNER CONVICTED. 55 

that you have violated it in many aggravated in- 
stances. 

4. Will you dare to deny this ? Will you dare to 
assert your innocence ? Remember, it must be a com- 
pete innocence; yes, and a perfect righteousness 
too, or it can stand you in no stead, farther than to 
prove, that, though a condemned sinner, you are not 
quite so criminal as some others, and will not have 
quite so hot a place in hell as they. And when this 
is considered, will you plead not guilty to the charge? 
Search the records of your own conscience, for God 
searcheth them : ask it seriously, " Have you never 
in your life sinned against God ?" Solomon declar- 
ed, that in his days " there was not a just man upon 
earth, who did good and sinned not;" (Eccles. 7: 
20 :) and the apostle Paul, " that all had sinned 
and come short of the glory of God," (Rom. 3 : 23,) 
"that both Jews and Gentiles (which, you know, 
comprehend the whole human race) were all under 
sin." Rom. 3 : 9. And can you pretend any imagi- 
nable reason to believe the world is grown so much 
better since their days, that any should now plead 
their own case as an exception ? Or will you, how- 
ever, presume to arise in the face of the omniscient 
Majesty of heaven, and say, I am the man ? 

5. Supposing, as before, you have been free from 
those gross acts of immorality which are so perni- 
cious to society that they have generally been pun- 
ishaole by human laws ; can you pretend that you 



have not, in smaller instances, violated the roles of 

. one 

• uld 

or done something 

uld not r >uld 

teotOftlity, of an 0J 
:iess ol the world 

under th< 

. 

Pi bountj 

of mocking him 

Bth and j 
II from bin 
Does 

- 

But, in i 

b to M 

well 

as on nil 

w hi- 
the | 
all the in 



EVIL OF OFFENDING GOD. 57 

omitted, especially in secret ; and on all those cases 
in which you hare shown a stupid disregard to the 
honor of God, and to the temporal and eternal hap- 
piness of your fellow-creatures : when all these, I 
say, are reviewed, the number will swell beyond all 
possibility of account, and force you to cry outf 
" Mine iniquities are more than the hairs of my 
head." Psal. 40 : 12. They will appear in such a 
light before you, that your own heart will charge 
you with countless multitudes; and how much more, 
11 then, that God, who is greater than your heart, 
and knoweth all things !" 1 John, 3 : 20. 

6. And say, sinner, is it a little thing that you 
have presumed to set light by the authority of the 
God of heaven, and to violate his law, if it had been 
by mere carelessness and inattention? How much 
more heinous, therefore, is the guilt, when in so 
many instances you have done it knowingly and 
wilfully ? Give me leave seriously to ask you, and 
let me entreat you to ask your own soul, " Against 
whom hast thou magnified thyself? against whom 
hast thou exalted thy voice," (2 Kings, 19 : 22,) or 
" lifted up thy rebellious hand?" On whose law, O 
sinner, hast thou presumed to trample ? and whose 
friendship, and whose enmity, hast thou thereby 
dared to affront ? Is it a man like thyself that thou 
hast insulted? Is it only a temporal monarch — only 
one " who can kill thy body, and then hath no more 
that he can do ?" Luke, 12:4. 



H ETIL Ol 

re dared to treat 

1 
thee to d» 

!, as thou hast dealt by 

and seraphim 

g or com- 

.ions 
'. 
. : man! who art thou, that thou 

,Asi oppo iu shouldst oppose 

1 I I of infiniti 

■88- 
11 

if that 
what m inconceivably w i the 

. 

•. af- 

laws in his v.-ry pi 

thousands and ten I Is; of a course :i 

i 



HEINOUSNESS OF SIN. 59 

don. Reflect on particulars, and deny the charge if 
you can. 

7. If knowledge be an aggravation of guilt, thy 
guilt, O sinner, is greatly aggravated! For thou 
wast born in Emmanuel's land, and God hath 
»• written to thee the great things of his law," yet 
"thou hast accounted them as a strange thing." 
Hos. 8 : 12. Thou hast ''known to do good, and 
hast not done it;" (James, 4 : 17.) and therefore to 
thee the omission of it has been sin indeed. " Hast 
thou not known ? Hast thou not heard ?" Isa. 30 : 28. 
Wast thou not early taught the will of God ? Hast 
thou not since received repeated iessons, by which it 
lias been inculcated again and again, in public and 
in private, by preaching and reading the word of 
God? Nay, hath not thy duty been in some in- 
stances so plain, that, even without any instruction 
at all, thine own reason might easily have inferred 
it? And hast thou not also been warned of the con- 
sequences of disobedience ? Hast thou not ,c known 
the righteous judgment of God, that they who com- 
mit such things are worthy of death?" Yet. thou 
hast, perhaps, " not only done the same, but hast had 
pleasure in those that do them ;" (Rom. 1 : 32.) hast 
chosen them for thy most intimate friends and com- 
panions ; so as hereby to strengthen, by the force of 
example and converse, the hands of each other in 
your iniquities. 

8. Nay more, if Divine love and mercy be any 



60 

thy 

aggravated Must 

thou : un- 

i and brought 
up by him as his child. ist rebelled against 

•tke you out of the 
he not watch 

m a multitude- 

cuuld no: 

u powen it not by 

him you have 
of improving ,; i em 'II 

your wants with an unwearied 1; aid added. 

with ) many who will rend this, the 

caci' Hi 11- ] 

Lrvnrnnee, wrhen in the diatreet ol 

called upon him fol he! 

from ruin, when k 

up ; and healed your dine** I » all 

about you, that t'n 

of in ib PanLlOS not 

this long-continue . 
!i, which you hare 

to 1 e a- '.. 

I. upon all 

what one thu ou in the world which his 



HEINOUSNESS OF SIN. 61 

goodness did not give you, and which he hath not 
thus far preserved to you ? Add to all this, the kind 
notice of his will which he hath sent you ; the ten- 
der expostulations which he hath used with you, to 
bring you to a wiser and better temper ; and the dis- 
coveries and gracious invitations of his Gospel 
which you have heard, and which you have de- 
spised ; and then say, whether your rebellion has 
not been aggravated by the vilest ingratitude, and 
whether that aggravation can be accounted small ? 

9. Again, if it be any aggravation of sin to be 
committed against conscience, thy crimes, O sinner ! 
have been so aggravated. Consult the records of it, 
and then dispute the fact if you can. " There is a 
spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty 
giveth him understanding;" (Job, 32 : 8.) and that 
understanding will act, and a secret conviction of 
being accountable to its Maker and Preserver is in- 
separable from the actings of it. It is easy to object 
to human remonstrances, and to give things false 
colorings before him ; but the heart often condemns, 
while the tongue excuses. Have you not often found 
it so ? Has not conscience remonstrated against your 
past conduct, and have not these remonstrances been 
very painful too ? I have been assured, by a gentle- 
man of undoubted credit, that, when he was in the 
pursuit of all the gayest sensualities of life, and was 
reckoned one of the happiest of mankind, he has 
seen a dog come into the room where he was among 

6 R- & Progress. 



\ 
tliou i ; i . 

i i > 

ihc idmonitio 

evil works is 

i, thou shah hear 

. : 
: 

I 

■j| ihi 



HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 63 

circumstance to awaken you, nor any pious teacher 
near you ? Have you never perceived some secret 
impulse upon your mind, leading you to think of re- 
ligion, urging you to an immediate consideration of 
it, sweetly inviting you to make trial of it, and warn- 
ing you, that you would lament this stupid neglect ? 
O sinner, why were not these happy motions attend- 
ed to ? Why did you not, as it were, spread out all 
the sail of your soul to catch that heavenly, that 
favorable breeze ? But you have carelessly neglected 
it: you have overborne these kind influences. How 
reasonably then might the sentence have gone forth 
in righteous displeasure, "My Spirit shall no more 
strive." Gen. 6 : 3. And indeed who can say that 
it is not already gone forth ? If you feel no secret 
agitation of mind, no remorse, no awakening while 
you read such a remonstrance as this, there will be 
room, great room to suspect it. 

11. There is indeed one aggravation more, which, 
may not attend your guilt — I mean that of being 
committed against solemn covenant engagements: a 
circumstance which has lain heavy on the conscien- 
ces of many, who perhaps in the main series of their 
lives have served God with great integrity. But let 
me call you to think to what this is owing. Is it 
not that you have never personally made any solemn 
profession of devoting yourself to God at all — have 
never done any thing which has appeared to your 
own apprehension an act by which you have made 



H HOLY HI'IIIIT RLHISTED. 

aeardsomuch 

D so solemnly 

•ed lo it? And in this view, how 

which at 

was mentioned as som f guilt? 

I are not, perhaps, a 

a i i t on this head as you may at 

so uncommon a degret 

\ 

would beat and help you in that hour niiy, 

I !•• beard and belped you, or wna 

not I \rr- 

j oa , 
and therefore your guilt, in the violation of them. 

■ him. though you are stupi . 
to forget tin-in. Notbii rgoMett, eothio 

• ! l>y him ; and tin- day Drill | 

cord shall be laid b 

\nd now. ( > sinner, think M'riouslv with thy 
nee thou wilt make to a.! tl 

: ceil thy witness.- thine 

■ 

■ roeh thi ■!■ hose 

npo ■ '"lu and \ 

low rorms may ( 



as I will endeavor presently to show thee. But thy 
foreboding conscience already knows the issue. 
Thou art convicted, convicted of the most aggrava- 
ted offences. Thou " hast not humbled thine heart, 
but lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven,' 1 
(Dan. 5 : 22, 23,) and " thy sentence shall come forth 
from his presence." Psalm 17:2. Thou hast vio- 
lated his known laws ; thou hast despised and abused 
his numberless mercies; thou hast affronted con- 
science, his vicegerent in thy soul; thou hast re- 
sisted and grieved his Spirit; thou hast trifled with 
him in all thy pretended submissions ; and, in one 
word, and that his own, "thou hast done evil things 
as thou couldst." Jer. 3 : 5. Thousands are no doubt 
already in hell whose guilt never equalled thine; 
and it is astonishing that God hath spared thee to 
read this representation of thy case, or to make any 
pause upon it. O waste not so precious a moment, 
bat enter attentively, and as humbly as thou canst, 
into those reflections w r hich suit a case so lamentable 
and so terrible as thine. 

The Confession of a Sinner convinced in general of his 
Guilt. 

" God ! thou injured Sovereign, thou all-pene- 
trating and Almighty Judge! what shall I say to 
this charge? Shall I pretend I am wronged by it, 
and stand on the defence in thy presence ? I dare not 
6* 



thou kno.vesi my foolishness, and 

at a denial of my Crimea 
. i only in t.'id add new fuel to the 

nine 
Ddamn dm I i 

it will fell :se ,' (Jo 

passed me abo 
I 
I in thy 

nam< my head . 

my heart fuktk d i j. 1 no i 

L, r uilty than it is possible for anoih- 

other ac- 
And \h . I i l . 

.'.. and knowest all things. 1 John, 3 
" W >ellioii 

agai: i 

alone I \ tthing has been right in 

iti princi] 

\ 
iy pursuits ha-. ■ 
. . I 
art infinitely the 1 I if I 

how 1 
: weary i 
• ' as hare 1» 

much more corrupt thai W ■ in* 



exhausted fountain of sin has there been in it ! A 
fountain of original corruption, which mingled its 
bitter streams with the days of early childhood ; and 
which, alas ! flows on even to this day, beyond what 
actions or words could express. I see this to have 
been the case with regard to what I can particularly 
survey. But, oh ! how many months and years have 
I forgotten, concerning which I only know this in 
the general, that they are much like those I can 
remember ; except it be, that I have been growing 
worse and worse, and provoking thy patience more 
and more, though every new exercise of it was more 
and more wonderful. 

" And how am I astonished that thy forbearance 
is still continued! It is because thou art ' God, and 
not man.' Hos. 11:9. Had I, a sinful worm, been 
thus injured, I could not have endured it. Had I 
been a prince, I had long since done justice on any- 
rebel whose crimes had borne but a distant resem- 
blance to mine. Had I been a parent, I had long since 
cast off the ungrateful child who had made me such 
a return as I have all my life long been making to 
thee, O thou Father of my spirit ! The flame of na- 
tural affection would have been extinguished, and hia 
sight and his very name would have become hate- 
ful to me. Why then, O Lord, am I not ■ cast out 
from thy presence ?' Jer. 52 : 3. Why am I not seal- 
ed up under an irreversible sentence of destruction ? 
That I live, I owe to thine indulgence. But, oh I 



I any w i there be 

:.opo for M guilty act 

race! 

r bf 

I 

Wool ,0 I^ord, 

ill but afterwcrds ' I nd break 

it in | 

1 1 >s. . 1 . 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE SINNER STRIPPED OF HIS VAIN PLEAS, 

I. 2. The vanity of those pleas which sinners may secretly con- 
fide in, is so apparent that they will be ashamed at last to 
mention them before God. — 3. Such as, that they descended 
from pious parents. — 4. That they had attended to the specu- 
lative part of religion. — 5. That they had entertained sound 
notions. — 6. 7. That they had expressed a zealous regard to 
religion, and attended the ouhoard forms of worship with 
those they apprehended the purest churches. — 8. That they 
had been free from gross immoralities. — 9. That they did not 
think the consequences of neglecting religion would have been 
so fatal.. — 10. That they could not do otherwise than they did. 
— 11. Conclusion. With the meditation of a convinced sin- 
ner giving up his vain picas before God. 

1. My last discourse left the sinner in very alarm- 
ing and very pitiable circumstances ; a criminal con- 
victed at the bar of God, disarmed of all pretences to 
perfect innocence and sinless obedience, and conse- 
quently obnoxious to the sentence of a holy law, 
which can make no allowance for any transgression, 
no not for the least : but pronounces death and a 
curse against every act of disobedience : how much 
more then against those numberless and aggravated 
acts of rebellion, of which, O sinner ! thy conscience 



i ■ I 

con- 
in be do: 
1 ! 

• ait 

. 
another, but iu • . a it it h . 
, it is not q 

Least consi 

■ : 

which is the hnppii 
I will then 

•Hi d for that | 
1 I iiner I w I 

V, thy- 

.ini shoal 
ind why thou ihoai » the 

. 

• ■ . I 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 71 

worm like thyself, who am shortly to stand with thee 
at the same bar? and "the Lord grant that I may 
find mercy of the Lord in that day ;" (2 Tim. 1 : 18:) 
but, what wilt thou reply to thy Judge ? What couldst 
thou plead, if thou wast now actually before his tri- 
bunal, where, to multiply vain words, and to frame 
idle apologies, would be but to increase thy guilt and 
provocation ? Surely the very thought of his pre- 
sence must supersede a thousand of those trifling ex- 
cuses which now sometimes impose on "a genera- 
tion that are pure in their own eyes," though they 
"are not washed from their filthiness!" (Prov. 30 : 
12,) or while they are conscious of their impurities, 
44 trust in words that cannot profit," (Jer. 7 : 3,) and 
"lean upon broken reeds." Isa. 36 : 6. 

3. You will not, to be sure, in such a condition, 
plead " that you are descended from pious parents." 
That was indeed your privilege; and wo be to you 
that you have abused it, and " forsaken the God of 
your fathers." 2 Chron. 7 : 22. Ishmael was imme- 
diately descended from Abraham, the friend of God, 
and Esau was the son of Isaac,, who was born ac- 
cording to the promise: yet you know they wero 
both cut off from the blessing to which they appre- 
hended they had a kind of hereditary claim. You 
may remember that our Lord does not only speak 
of one who would call "Abraham father," who was 
" tormented in flames," (Luke, 16 : 24,) but express- 
ly declares that many of the children of the king- 



flNN. | 

in, and n 
L Noi 

» increase 

brok 
most ohv, 

. mtu it, :.. 
cum 
R did you think r< 

\it, and the amust-: 
I 

'. have ju 
d thing ; and if it irai so. « h 
not j : ngly ! 1 

branchei of ii . and w by then di 

: 

igno: 

srould nave b< i 

of your guilt But if, I 

uono 
it," you beu vritnoM a 

i 
12:47. 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 73 

5. Nor yet, again, will it suffice to say " that you 
have had right notions both of the doctrines and the 
precepts of religion." Your advantage for practicing 
it was therefore the greater ; but understanding and 
acting right can never go for the same thing in the 
judgment of God or of man. In "believing there is 
one God," you have done well ; but the " devils also 
believe and tremble." James, 2 : 19. In acknow- 
ledging. Christ to be the Son of God and the Holy 
One, you have done well too ; but you know the un- 
clean spirits made this very orthodox confession ; 
(Luke, 4 : 34, 41.) and yet they are ' ? reserved in 
everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judg- 
ment of the great day." Jude, ver. 6. And will you 
place any secret confidence in that which might be 
pleaded by the infernal spirits as well p.s by you ? 

6. But perhaps you may think of pleading that 
"you have actually done something in religion." 
Having judged what faith was the soundest, and 
what worship the purest, " you entered yourself into 
those societies where such articles of faith were 
professed, and such forms of worship were practiced ; 
and among these you have signalized yourself by the 
exactness of your attendance, by the zeal with which 
you have espoused their cause, and by the earnestness 
with which you have contended for such principles 
and practices." O sinner ! I much fear that this zeal of 
thine about the circumstantials of religion will swell 
thine account, rathei than be allowed in abatement 

7 R. & Progress. 



7 1 

of it. II :rom 

-«•, .tml how far it . • hnpe 

I mtu nil h\ 
which tl. i^ on thy menn tleaij^n^ 

irnJ roll 
gion in the basest 

• 

with wh. 

•iip which was once deliver 
. 
may ha\ ■•oncludr it be 

mere pri 
i 

ir own ju 
of ci 
whii 

won ■. hich, if I may be 

. 
•• upon the • turn it ii 

7, Bui that i zeal] 

tc- 

■ !i\* thee in 

. 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. /ft 

in the book of God's remembrance? Were the re- 
vealed doctrines of the Gospel to be earnestly main- 
tained, (as indeed they ought,) and was the great 
practical purpose for which they were revealed to be 
forgot ? Was the very mint, and anise, and cummin 
to be tithed ; and were " the weightier matters of the 
law to be omitted," (Matt. 23 : 23.) even that love 
to God which is its " first and great command ?" 
Matt. 22: 38. O! how wilt thou be able to vindi- 
cate even the justest sentence thou hast passed on 
others for their infidelity, or for their disobedience, 
without being " condemned out of thine own mouth?" 
Luke, 19 : 22. 

8. Will you then plead " your fair moral charac- 
ter, your works of righteousness and of mercy?" 
Had your obedience to the law of God been com- 
plete, the plea might be allowed as important and 
valid. But I have supposed, and proved above, 
that conscience testifies to the contrary; and you 
will not now dare to contradict it. I add farther, had 
these works of yours, which you now urge, pro- 
ceeded from a sincere love to God, and a genuine 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you would not have 
thought of pleading them any otherwise than as an 
evidence of your interest in the Gospel-covenant, and 
in the blessings of it, procured by the righteousness 
and blood of the Redeemer ; and that faith, had it 
been sincere, would have been attended with such 
deep humility, and with such solemn apprehensions 



ner «trippi:p or EXCUSES. 

of t] rit-is and gl«" 

pleading any works t >: 

of sinful i 

this ad- 
i absolute! 

ccs> >hould be told. 

- lays 

in. at to the lie urn- 

17.) and examine! all your actions 

and all your thoughts with the 

You Iki . drunkard, an adulterer, or a 

robl it is well. You stand before a n. 

»u for drunkenness, adu! 
or r ■ '• 
am! 

16 I . 
B 
mortal bl< 

iben nd as 

that baa looked I and hu- 

r temper and iae of 

• 
ire than form 
and the 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 77 

been a thousand times more than an equivalent for 
such defective and imperfect virtues as these. You 
remain therefore chargeable with the guilt of a thou- 
sand offences, for which you have no excuse, though 
there are some other instances in which you did not 
grossly offend. And those good works in which you 
have been so ready to trust, will no more vindicate 
you in his awful presence, than a man's kindness to 
his poor neighbors would be allowed as a plea in 
arrest of judgment, when he stood convicted of high 
treason against his prince. 

9. But you will, perhaps, be ready to say, " you 
did not expect all this : you did not think the conse- 
quences of neglecting religion would have been so S 
fatal." And why did you not think it? Why did 
you not examine more attentively and more impar- 
tially? Why did you suffer the pride and folly of ~"\ 
your vain heart to take up with such superficial ap- 
pearances, and trust the light suggestions of your 
own prejudiced mind against the express declaration 
of the word of God ? Had you reflected on his cha- 
racter as the supreme Governor of the world, you 
would have seen the necessity of such a day of retri- 
bution as we are now referring to. Had you regard- 
ed the Scripture, the divine authority of which you 
professed to believe, every page might have taught 
you to expect it. " You did not think of religion !" 
and of what were you thinking when you forgot of 
neglected it ? Had you so much employment of an- 
7* 



78 BIKXIR 5TRIPPFD OF EXC I 

other 1> i 

end could j : equal 

agementa, con- 

■ ... 

ii ought 
as agn , and cast up, ai 

I 

.• most 
ought- 
less, and tin 

[aaL 28 : 10.) in rath plain 
language that it needed no genius or study to un- 
•. II is well 

as wit: 

uld Ik 
. upon the bed of sloth. . pleas 

ing as 

as a torn, 

it might not be beard as a frit 
10. Hut some may i>"rh;ijis imagae tl 

. that th< 

I the nec< i 
nature, impelled to those thi] 

and that : 
your ] :rcuin- 

! 

any thing, it u. ■!• ed promises t< 



SINNER STRIPPED OF EXCUSES. 79 

that it will amount to nothing. If I were disposed to 
answer you upon the folly and madness of your own 
principles, I might say that the same consideration 
which proves it was necessary for you to offend, 
proves also that it is necessary for God to punish 
you;' and that, indeed, he cannot but do it: and I 
might farther say with an excellent writer, " that 
the same principles which destroy the injustice of 
sins, destroy the injustice of punishment too." But 
if you cannot admit this ; if you should still reply, 
in spite of principle, that it must be unjust to punish 
you for an action utterly and absolutely unavoidable, 
I really think you would answer right. But in that 
answer you will contradict your own scheme, as I 
observed above; and I leave your conscience to 
judge what sort of a scheme that must be which 
would make all kind of punishment unjust ; for the 
argument will on the whole be the same, whether 
with regard to human punishment or divine. It is 
a scheme full of confusion and horror. You would 
not, I am sure, take it from a servant who had rob- 
bed you and then fired your house ; you would never 
inwardly believe that he could not have helped it, 
or think that he had fairly excused himself by such 
a plea ; and I am persuaded you would be so far 
from presuming to offer it to God at the great day, 
that you would not venture to turn it into a prayer 
even now. Imagine that you saw a malefactor dying 
with such words as these in his mouth : " O God ! 



80 tki t sr.t. 

II IS '. : . 1 

Stan i 

will ua.s irresistibl . 

thou di<i?t set i hare 

shah 

sun in the fir. 

I 

i a speech as 
this with 
other J 

your mouth, it would 1. 

won illy applic >ck- 

Bul indeed it is so contrary to the 
plainest principles «>t' common reason, ti. I 
har<; uld seriously 

and thoi 

mysolfto 

tonne** of human wit h i 

II. 1 of all 

your pleas, and 1 

tin-in might \ ■ i . ur- 

self; bow much more then by Him 

all heart . the 

■ r ful and irresistible 

Hon ' Whit then can jrou *' 

• 1 in the j>r<-.':. i | \\ hould y**j 
hold vour peace under an inward •*■** 



MEDITATION OF A CONVINCED SINNER. 81 

inexcusable guilt, and prepare yourself to hear the 
sentence which his law pronounces against you? 
You must feel the execution of it, if the Gospel does 
not at length deliver you ; and you must feel some- 
thing of the terror of it before you can be excited to 
seek to that Gospel for deliverance. 

The Meditation of a convinced Smner giving up his vain 
pleas before God. 

11 Deplorable condition to which I am indeed re- 
duced ! I have sinned, and ' what shall I say unto 
thee, O thou Preserver of men V Job, 7 : 20. What 
shall I dare to say ? Fool that I was, to amuse my- 
self with such trifling excuses as these, and to ima- 
gine they could have any weight in thy tremendous 
presence, or that I should be able so much as to 
mention them there. I cannot presume to do it. I 
am silent and confounded : my hopes, alas! are slain, 
and my soul itself is ready to die too, so far as an 
immortal soul can die ; and I am almost ready to 
say, O that it could die entirely ! I am indeed a cri- 
minal in the hands of justice, quite disarmed, and 
stripped of the weapons in which I trusted. Dissi- 
mulation can only add provocation to provocation. 
I will therefore plainly and freely own it. I have 
acted as if I thought God was ' altogether such a 
one as myself:' but he hath said, ' I will reprove 
thee ; I will set thy sins in order before thine eyes ;' 



battle ar: 
kind of ho6i do i 
i 
posi- 1 

mu must 
awful, the 

he h on.' 

- 
in jndgmi t 10 

nk iniquity, 1 (] wilt thou 

:;d if 

him, in v. 
I . 
I 
demnation. And « 

Hi" ;■ 

ir it finally and in I 

lie 1. ! 

I 

■ 
then ' God ! wh 
in circum 

in the Ian rtu.nl 

Aim! |i • tl j v ful in its 0] 



MEDITATION OF A CONVINCED SINNER. S3 

be ' quick and powerful, and sharper than any two- 
edged sword.' Heb. 4:12. Let me not vainly natter 
myself, let me not be left a wretched prey to those 
who would prophesy smooth things to me,' (Isa. 
30 : 10,) till I am sealed up under wrath, and feel 
thy justice piercing my soul, and * the poison of 
thine arrows drinking up all my spirits.' Job, 6 : 4. 
11 Before I enter upon the particular view, I know, 
in the general, that " it is a fearful thing to fall into 
the hands of the living God.' Heb. 10: 31. O thou 
living God ! in one sense I am already fallen into 
thine hands. I am become obnoxious to thy dis- 
pleasure, justly obnoxious to it; and whatever thy 
sentence may be, when it comes forth from thy pre- 
sence (Psal. 17:2,) I must condemn myself and 
justify thee. Thou canst not treat me with more se- 
verity than mine iniquities have deserved ; and how 
bitter soever that cup of trembling may be (Isa. 
51: 17,) which thou shalt appoint for me, I give 
judgment against myself, that I deserve « to wring 
out the very dregs of it.' " Psalm 75 : 8. 



84 Tin: UVVm SEXT 



(IIA1 



:•:■ -, • . : ;rr ,; CUT St — I /.' ; ' - Mfc 'S 

u judgment- 
■ d prouu 

■■ 

CW ;tniy and imme- 

- I I r m- 

. ; t\e terror 

of his sentence. 

1. 1 ! • i 

4.) J 

thine 

to h: in a 

more inn: : ror 

which 

ire 

re to 

sen- 

. up, if th 
of thy Mul 10 [| m- 



SINNER SENTENCED. 85 

judgment ;" but " he who now judgeth thee is the 
Lord." 1 Cor. 4 : 3, 4. Hear, therefore, and tremble, 
while I tell thee how he will speak to thee ; or ra- 
ther, while I show thee, from express Scripture, how 
he doth even now speak, and what is the authentic 
and recorded sentence of his word, even of his word 
who hath said, " Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
but not one tittle of my word shall ever pass away." 
Matt. 5: 18, 

3. The law of God speaks not to thee alone, O sin* 
ner ! nor to thee by any particular address ; but in a 
most universal language it speaks to all transgres- 
sors, and levels its terrors against all offences, great 
or small, without any exception. And this is its lan- 
, guage : " Cursed is every one that continueth not in 

rail things which are written in the book of the law 
to do them." Gal. 3: 10. This is its voice to the 
whole world ; and this it speaks to thee. Its awful 
contents are thy personal concern, O reader ! and 
thy conscience knows it. Far from continuing in all 
things that are written therein to do them, thou 
canst not but be sensible that "innumerable evils 
have encompassed thee about." Psa. 40 : 12. It is 
* then manifest thou art the man whom it condemns : 
thcu art even now " cursed with a curse," as God 
emphatically speaks, (Mai. 3:9.) with the curse of 
the Most High God ; yea, " all the curses which are 
written in the book of the law" are pointed against 
ihee. Deut. 29 : 20. God may righteously execute 

g R. & Progress. 



I r>. 

I though 

but a little while and 
till 
1 shall p 
l'-i |i I 18 
1. 1 nneth, 

E I B it thou hast an 

thou art 

solving nature ul shall 

from thy 
mi to the 

J : t of 
sin. In t: 

all r; \ful 

rial of lii.s bol] f it, 

inn jininj) ami hon I the 

h Kind of 
v which tl 

riminaJ is Led <>iit to torture n 

II all be 

tun ■ 

I 17. Though th< :• 
of them, their multitude! ami tl 
them They shall 

rem- 



SINNER SENTENCED. 87 

geance hath prepared — into " Tophet, which is or- 
dained of old, even for royal sinners," as well as for 
others; so little can any human distinction protect ! 
" He hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof is 
fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a 
stream of brimstone, shall kindle it ;" (Isa. 30 : 33,) 
and the flaming torrent shall flow in upon it so fast, 
that it shall be turned into a sea of liquid fire ; or, 
as the Scripture also expresses it, " a lake burning 
with fire and brimstone" for ever. Rev. 21 : 8. 
" This is the second death," and the death to which 
thou, O sinner ! by the word of God art doomed. 

6. And shall this sentence stand upon record in 
vain? Shall the law speak it, and the Gospel speak 
it ? and shall it never be pronounced more audibly 1 
and will God never require and execute the punish- 
ment? He will, O sinner ! require it ; and he will 
execute it, though he may seem for a while to delay. 
For well dost thou know that " he hath appointed 
a day in which he will judge the " whole " world in 
righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained, 
of which he hath given assurance in having raised 
him from the dead." Acts, 17: 31. And when God 
judgeth the world, O reader ! whoever thou art, he 
will judge thee. And while I remind thee of it, I 
would also remember that he will judge me. And 
"knowing the terror of the Lord," (2 Cor. 5: 11,) 
that I may " deliver my own soul," (Ezek. 33 : 9.) 
I would, with all plainness and sincerity, labor to de- 
liver thine. 



88 jrpr.MKVT PAY WILL POME. 

" • I solemn warning: 1 

i shalt see that pompous 

M SO 

• 
now 
art, tli 

soul: an<: 

- of a tiissolv- 

3. Dostthou really think 
■ 
and to r. 
Wh . 

f the just,'' ihou hast the e 
th< re shall el 

i the 

• rise. Or 

som 

hall 

' 
Of all Olhc 

for 1. I that 

■ 



JUDGMENT DAY AWFUL. 89 

that a sentence, to be delivered with so much pomp 
and majesty, a sentence by which the righteous 
judgment of God is to be revealed, and to have its 
most conspicuous and final triumph, will be incon- 
siderable, or the punishment to which it shall con- 
sign the sinner be slight or tolerable % There would 
have been little reason to apprehend that, even if we 
had been left barely to our own conjectures what 
that sentence should be. But this is far from being 
the case : our Lord Jesus Christ, in his infinite con- 
descension and compassion, has been pleased to give 
us a copy of the sentence, and no doubt a most exact 
copy ; and the words which contain it are worthy of 
being inscribed on every heart. " The King," amidst 
all the splendor and dignity in which he shall then 
appear, " shall say unto those on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from' the foundation of the 
world !" Matt. 25*: 34. And " where the word of a 
king is, there is power " indeed. Eccles. 8 : 4. And 
these words have a power which may justly animate 
the heart of the humble Christian under the most 
overwhelming sorrow, and may fill him " with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory." 1 Pet. 1 : 8. To be 
pronounced the blessed of the Lord ! to be called to 
a kingdom ! to the immediate, the everlasting inhe- 
ritance of it ; and of such a kingdom ! so well pre- 
pared, so glorious, so complete, so exquisitely fitted 
for the delight and entertainment of such creatures, 
8* 



00 lUDOMZOT pay awim 

ind to 

it upon bi J ! a 

Livel] 

(1 Pet I 3 

oftK 

from whi 

and melbinks that 

'• 'J :. 

—bat not to no 

iom 
\x>n\ 
hath 

is what . 
what thou art — to thee, 

nu- 

r so 

i who 

rich 

r rank, (Rev. 9 I 

{>on 

. ... 



JUDGMENT DAY AWFUL. 91 

9. He will say, " Depart :" you shall be driven 
from his presence with disgrace and infamy : " from 
him," the source of life and blessedness, in a near- 
ness to whom all the inhabitants of heaven con- 
tinually rejoice ; you shall " depart," accursed : you 
have broken God's law, and its curse falls upon you ; 
and you are and shall be under that curse, that abid- 
ing curse ; from that day forward you shall be re- 
garded by God and all his creatures as an accurs- 
ed and abominable thing, as the most detestable and 
the most miserable part of the creation. You shall 
go "into fire;" and, oh! consider into what fire! 
Is it merely into one fierce blaze which shall con- 
sume you in a moment, though with exquisite pain ? 
That were terrible. But, oh! such terrors are not 
to be named with these. Thine, sinner, " is everlast- 
ing fire." It is that which our Lord hath m such 
awful terms described as prevailing there, " where 
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched ;" 
and again, in wonderful compassion, a third time, 
•'where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched." Mark, 9 : 44, 46, 48. Nor was it ori- 
ginally prepared or principally intended for you : 
it was "prepared for the devil and his angels ;" for 
those first grand rebels who were, immediately upon 
their fall, doomed to it : and since you have taken 
part with them in their apostacy, you must sink with 
them into that flaming ruin, and sink so much the 
deeper, as you have despised the Savior, who was 



I I. I! llii IE! 

sc must I 
panions and your you roust 

it say this ? or say not 
.ospel Um 
Loi 

who 

i pro- 

cou 

should be all this pompom 

mind only with vain terror, and that this 

should vanish into 

hand thai this would I i the 

Divine a 

. 

in va 

immediately I • 
lound of it 
go away into everlasting punish:. 

their num , w ith t:. 

w ith them into » temal ruin. 1 



THE SINNER SENTENCED. 93 

they shall be shut upon thee for ever, to enclose thee, 
and be fast barred by the Almighty hand of divine 
justice, to prevent all hope, all possibility of escape 
for ever. 

11. And now "prepare" thyself "to meet the 
Lord thy God." Amos, 4 : 12. Summon up ail the 
resolution of thy mind to endure such a sentence, 
such an execution as this ; for " he will not meet thee 
as a man ;" (Isaiah, 47 : 30 ;) whose heart may some- 
times fail him when about to exert a needful act of 
severity, so that compassion may prevail against 
reason and justice. No, he will meet thee as a God, 
whose schemes and purposes are all immovable as 
his throne. I therefore testify to thee in his name 
this day, that if God be true, he will thus speak ; and 
that if he be able, he will thus act. And on supposi- 
tion of thy continuance in thine impenitence and un- 
belief, thou art brought into this miserable case, that 
if God be not either false or weak, thou art undone, 
thou art eternally undone. 

The Reflection of a Sinner struck with the Terror of 
his Sentence. 

" Wretch that I am ! What shall I do, or whither 
shall I flee ? * I am weighed in the balance, and am 
found wanting.' Dan. 5 : 27. This is indeed my 
doom ; the doom I am to expect from the mouth of 
Christ himself, from the mouth of him that died for 



94 

Dreadful sen 
much the onsi- 

U shall I look to ear* 
fro.:. ;l I call? Shall 1 1 

1 upon :. 

I 
I 

could n< • 
and is much ease 

•• Wretch that ] 

1 < that I h;nl never known the dig 

roga obnoxious to 

• 1 :. 
.a the will oi I 

| \ , ■ i 

ill.- | 

1 
should have bad m 
many ct" the impr idftll 

' ami thus ' 

sou! ' ' it will 1 1 . - to fed the 

aa! death. W 

. world like tin 
thai Why I 



THE SINNER SENTENCED. 95 

my Creator's bounties, to wring out at last the dregs 
of his wrath ! Why have I known the delights of 
social life and friendly converse, to exchange them 
for the horrid company of devils and damned spirits 
in hell ! Oh ! ' who can dwell ' with them in ' de- 
vouring flames 1 who can lie down ' with them ' in 
everlasting, everlasting, everlasting burnings V Isa. 
33 : 14. ' 

" But whom have I to blame in all this but my- 
self? What have I to accuse but my own stupid in 
corrigible folly ? On what is all this terrible ruin to 
be charged, but on this one fatal, cursed cause, that, 
having broken God's law, I rejected his Gospel too 1 

" Yet stay, O my soul, in the midst of all these 
doleful foreboding complaints. Can I say that I have 
finally rejected the Gospel ? Am I not to this day 
under the sound of it ? The sentence is not yet gone 
forth against me in so determinate a manner as to be 
utterly irreversible. Through all this gloomy pros- 
pect one ray of hope breaks in, and it is possible I 
may yet be delivered. 

11 Reviving thought ! Rejoice in it, my soul ! 
though it be with trembling, and turn immediately to 
that God, who, though provoked by ten thousand of- 
fences, has not yet * sworn in his wrath that thou 
shalt never ' be permitted to hold further intercourse 
with him, or to £ enter into his rest.' Psalm 95 : 11. 

" I do then, O blessed Lord ! prostrate myself in 
the dust before thee. I own I am a condemned and 



iin mudn 

• I . i 

ful tome a 

I . 

i 

I it out so plain f I may 

K) huml! r so 

;l ! 

1 but be thou 

■ 
band, an i in thine ini . the 

I inquire a little farther how 1 may finally 
avoid it I" 



sinner's helpless state. 97 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE HELPLESS STATE OF THE SINNER UNDER CONDEMNATION, 

1, 2. TJie sinner urged to consider how he can be saved from 
this impending ruin. — 3. Not by any thing he can offer. — 4. 
Nor by any thing he can endure. — 5. Nor by any thing he 
can do in the course of future duty. — 6-8. Nor by any alli- 
ance with fdloic -sinners on earth or in hell. — 9. Nor by any 
interposition or intercession of angels or saints in his favor. 
Hint of the only method, to be aftervmrds more largely ex- 
plained. The lamentation of a sinner in this miserable con- 
dition. 

1. Sinner, thou hast heard the sentence of God 
as it stands upon record in his sacred and immuta- 
ble word : and wilt thou lie down under it in ever- 
lasting- despair ? wilt thou make no attempt to be 
delivered from it, when it speaks nothing less than 
eternal death to thy soul? If a criminal, condemned 
by human laws, has but the least shadow of hope 
that he may escape, he is all attention to it. If there 
be a friend who he thinks can help him, with what 
strong importunity does he entreat the interposition of 
that friend % And even while he is before the judge, 
how difficult is it often to force him away from the bar, 
while the cry of mercy, mercy, mercy, may be heard, 
though it be ever so unseasonable? A mere possi- 
bility that it may make some impression, makes him 

q R. & Progress. 



eag« | i willing to be silenced anc 

-. W :ution 

is d< r haps be done 

•vilt thou not caal al . '.houghts 

. 

1 
for it is 

hou canst help thy- 
tf thou >urce of :• 

go not out of thyself for otl I thou 

:igth 

the in vorlil, \vh end or deliver I 

. 

say, 
: I in the 

alli< 

I 

• to mak hi to 

an inquiry and proposal, Lik .ened 

■ \\ I 

i 
ra I. mi • 



sinner's helpless state. 99 

of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ?" 
Mic. 6 : 6, 7. Alas ! wert thou as great a prince as 
Solomon himself, and couldst thou indeed purchase 
such sacrifices as these, there would be no room to 
mention them. " Lebanon would not be sufficient to 
burn, nor all the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering." 
Isa. 40 : 16. Even under that dispensation which 
admitted and required sacrifices in some cases, the 
blood of bulls and of goats, though it exempted the 
offender from farther temporal punishment, " could 
not take away sin," (Heb. 10 : 4.) nor prevail by 
any means to purge the conscience in the sight of 
God. And that soul that had " done aught presump- 
tuously" was not allowed to bring any sin-offering, 
or trespass-offering at all, but was condemned to 
"die without mercy." Numb. 15 : 30. Now God and 
thine own conscience know that thine offences have 
not been merely the errors of ignorance and inad- 
vertency, but that thou hast sinned with a high hand 
in repeated aggravated instances, as thou hast acknow- 
ledged already. Shouldst thou add, with the wretched 
sinner described above, " Shall I give my first-born 
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin 
of my soul?" Mic. 6 : 7. What could the blood of 
a beloved child do in such a case, but dye thy crimes 
so much the deeper and add a yet unknown horror 
to them? Thou hast offended a Being of infinite 
majesty; and if that offence is to be expiated by 
blood, it must be another kind of blood than that 



100 simmer'* i f tats. 

I Wilt thou t! hast mad* 

full satis: .all that satisfaction be 

to be endured 
in th l 

i esteemed sorrows 

its demands ? 

with regard to that, I 

«ed; 
wht-n thou hast paid il 

■ 

-aim 

then 

\vh- 
flict I 

thou 

D with th 

spa;. ord of th> 

ike fire 

whelm thi e « ith r 



SINNERS HELPLESS STATE, 101 

5. Or do you think that your future reformation 
and diligence in duty for the time to come will pro- 
cure your discharge from this sentence ? Take heed, 
sinner, what kind of obedience thou thinkest of offer- 
ing to a holy God. That must be spotless and com- 
plete which his infinite sanctity can approve and ac- 
cept, if he consider thee in thyself alone : there must 
be no inconstancy, no forgetfulness, no mixture of 
sin attending it. And wilt thou, enfeebled as thou 
art by so much original corruption and so many 
sinful habits contracted by innumerable actual trans- 
gressions, undertake to render such an obedience, 
and that for all the remainder of thy life ? In vain 
wouldst thou attempt it, even for one day. New guilt 
would immediately plunge thee into neAv ruin. But 
if it did not, if from this moment to the very end of 
thy life all were as complete obedience as the law of 
God required from Adam in Paradise, would that 
be sufficient to cancel past guilt? Would it discharge 
an old debt, that thou hast not contracted a new 
one 1 Offer this to thy neighbor, and see if he will 
accept it for payment ; and if he will not, wilt thou 
presume to offer it to thy God ? 

6. But I will not multiply words on so plain a 
subject. While I speak thus, time is passing away, 
death presses on, and judgment is approaching. And 
what can save thee from these awful scenes, or 
what can protect thee in them ? Can the world save 
thee — that vain delusive idol of thy wishes and pur- 

9* 



puils, I 
hopes? Well d« 

most ; a; 

. h thee 
ill a trifle 
ouldstdt- 
■ 
ha> ben. 

7. And when ] u are 

iful companions save you? is 
::i, if he v. 
of cluing it, that in for 

: ) to deli 
down I ' i hell ? 

\ libleo/Uti 

when yoQ lie on the 
be un.'. 

I 
• ht-r than 

the bar of 
when they arc over\vh< h 
mnation ! 

from bai ii 

and la- 

iriumph ia 

: .in an 

an as> I r meat oi 



103 

ungodly men will also be the judgment of these re- 
bellious spirits; and the fire into which thou : O sin- 
ner, must depart, is that which was "prepared for 
the devil and his angels." Matt. 25 : 41. 

9. Will the celestial spirits then save thee? Will 
they interpose their power or their prayers in thy 
favor ? An interposition of power, when sentence is 
gone forth against thee, were an act of rebellion 
against heaven, which these holy and excellent 
creatures would abhor. And when the final pleasure 
of the Judge is known, instead of interceding in vain 
for the wretched criminal, they would rather, with 
ardent zeal for the glory of their Lord, and cordial 
acquiescence in the determination of his wisdom and 
justice, prepare to execute it. Yea, difficult as it may 
at present be to conceive it, it is a certain truth, that 
the servants of Christ, who now most tenderly love 
you, and most affectionately seek your salvation, not 
excepting those who are allied to you in the nearest 
bonds of nature or of friendship, even they shall put 
their amen to it. Now indeed their bowels yearn 
over you, and their eyes pour out tears on your ac- 
count. Now they expostulate with you, and plead 
with God for you, if by any means, while yet there 
is hope, you may "be plucked as a firebrand out of 
the burning." Amos, 4 : 11. But, alas! their re- 
monstrances you will not regard ; and as for their 
prayers, what should they ask for you 1 What but 
that you may see yourself to be undone ; and that, 



104 1 LAMENT \ ri 

uit< : 'irself, or from 

any . lie before ' tod in ha- 

milr.;. mess of heart, that, submitting 

;s judgment, and in an u 
ion of all self dependence and of all - 

imble look to- 

almost from t:. per- 

>n upon you, and 

to that only method of rescue, 

wl.i •}]. v. bile thiogi com 

stan re, neither earth, nor hell, nor hv \ 

can afiurd . 

:blt Condihen. 

< » I doleful, helpless st.v. 

• h that 1 am, to : 

r, empty, m 

is my pride and the haughtUM 

When- an- my idol deitil B, ' whom I 1. 

served, after whom I have walked, ami whom I fa 

sought,' (J r B "-' ) while I have been multiplying 

1 -art to ha* I Is 

me '11 . me, 

h t\ • , the hand of 

i ad what shall 

I dol Perhepi they have pity o] ut. alas! 



SINNERS LAMENTATION. 105 

how feeble a compassion ! Only, if there be any 
where in the Avhole compass of nature any help, tell 
me where it may be found ! O point it out, direct me 
toward it ; or rather, confounded and astonished as 
my mind is, take me by the hand and lead me to it ! 

" O ye ministers of the Lord, whose office it is to 
guide and comfort distressed souls, take pity upon 
me ! I fear I am a pattern of many other helpless 
creatures who have the like need of your assistance. 
Lay aside your other cares to care for my soul, to 
care for this precious soul of mine, which lies as it 
were bleeding to death, (if that expression may be 
used,) while you perhaps hardly afford me a look, 
or, glancing an eye upon me, ' pass over to the other 
side.' Luke, 10 : 32. Yet, alas! in a case like mine, 
what can your interposition avail if it be alone : ■ If 
the Lord do not help me, how can you help me V 
2 Kings, 6 : 27. 

" ' O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh,' 
(Numb. 16: 22,) I lift up mine eyes unto thee, and 
1 cry unto thee as out of the belly of hell.' Jonah, 
2:2. I cry unto thee, at least from the borders of it. 
Yet, while I lie before thee in this infinite distress, I 
know that thine Almighty power and boundless 
grace can still find out a way for my recovery. 

" Thou art he whom I have most of all injured 
and affronted; and yet from thee alone must I now 
seek redress. ' Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, 
and done evil in thy sight ;' so that ' thou mightest 



H i a now. 

iu should* at 
Ail 

I rig- that ft - iwa me t 

if I might fin I 

< wed Gc I 

(Hot. -11. 

" I L: I, that ' thy ways |] 

as our wav>, ii' »r thy th noughts . 

ar<- ifl ' high 

the • irth. I . 1 5 B, '.'. • I : 
•upon me, G kindness, 

irding to the multii 

I ' "1 1. ( i j> lint out the path to I 
elf ' in th< 
i .in the 

idminitter i* ; ( » \ 

Mill in many in- 

vrhieh ha- spread itself through all i 

licinc into poison l l: 






NEWS OF SALVATION. 107 



CHAPTER VIII. 



NEWS OF SALVATION BY CHRIST BROUGHT TO THE CONVINCED 
AND CONDEMNED SINNER. 

L. The awful things which have hitherto been said* intended 
not to grieve, but to help. — 2. After some reflection on the 
pleasure with which a minister of the Gospel may deliver the 
message with which he is charged,. — 3. And some reasons for 
the repetition of what is in speculation so generally knoion. — 4. 
6. The author proceeds briefly to declare the substance of these 
glad tidings : viz. that God having in his infinite compat' 
sion sent his Son to die for sinners, is now reconcilable 
through him. — 7. 8. So that the most heinous transgi essions 
shall be entirely pardoned to believers, and they made com~ 
pletely and eternally happy. The sinner's reflection on this 
good news'. 

1. My dear reader, it is the great design of the 
Gospel, and wherever it is cordially received, it is 
the glorious effect of it, to fill the heart with senti- 
ments of love ; to teach us to abhor all unnecessary 
rigor and severity, and to delight not in the grief, 
but in the happiness of our fellow-creatures. I can 
hardly apprehend how he can be a Christian who 
takes pleasure in the distress which appears even in 
a brute, much less in that of a human mind ; and 
especially in such distress as the thoughts I have 
been proposing must give, if there be any due atten- 



108 

i e often felt a 
! 

• ••art 
I hem 

I 
! un- 

!l those awful things which 

i : 

f no 

spri:: 

of tr. 
your I 

in the 

. 
c\ I ou hast . 

I I 

10.) 



NEWS OF SALVATION. 109 

world unto himself, and not imputing to them their 
trespasses." £-Cor. 5: 19. 

3. This is the best news that ever was heard, the 
most important message which God ever sent to his 
creatures ; and though I doubt not that, living as 
you have done in a Christian country, you have 
heard it often, perhaps a thousand and a thousand 
times ; I will, with all simplicity and plainness, re- 
peat it to you again, and repeat it as if you had never 
heard it before. If thou, O sinner, shouldst now for 
ihe first time feel it, then will it be as a new Gospel 
unto thee, though so familiar to thine ear ; nor shall 
it be " grievous to me" to speak what is so commom 
" since to you it is safe" and necessary. Phil. 3 : 1. 
They who are most deeply and intimately acquaint- 
ed with it, instead of being cloyed and satiated, will 
hear it with distinguished pleasure; and as for those 
who have hitherto slighted it, I am sure they had 
need to hear it again. Nor is it absolutely impossi- 
ble that some one soul at least may read these lines 
who hath never been clearly and fully instructed in 
this important doctrine, though his everlasting all 
depends on knowing and receiving it. I will there- 
fore take care that such a one shall not have it to 
plead at the bar of God, that, though he lived in a 
Christian country, he was never plainly and faith- 
fully taught the doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ, 
*' the way, the truth, and the life, by whom alone we 
come unto the Father." John, 14:6. 

10 R.& Progress. 



i 10 KEWB OF SA! 

I. I Lit the 

. and gra< M nd rarih, fore- 

:1 apost.i \ich the whole hu- 
HMUI 

• rict and I US, so as 
to ci table 

mined to 
r into a tr in, and to 

publish to all who;. 
I offers of i 

his infm. irity 

of his oature am! tl 
.oil was ; 

! uniliar BJ ii is to our thou 

cans ' • 

world, " I 

. 
own di?in ind honoi . 

a lead 

hut a »uld 

. but 

5 Accordingly, at such a period of i 
rtfte wisdom saw i ; 

. r be 

• all tin- | . . | :.• 



NEWS OF SALVATION. Ill 

tarily "submitted himself to death, even the death of 
the cross ;" (Phil. 2 : 8,) and having been " delivered 
for our offences, was raised again for our justifica- 
tion." Rom. 4 : 25. After his resurrection he con- 
tinued long enough on earth to give his followers 
most convincing evidences of it, and then " ascended 
into heaven in their sight ;" (Acts, 1 : 9-1 1,) and 
sent down his Spirit from thence unto his apostles, 
to enable them, in the most persuasive and authori- 
tative manner, " to preach the Gospel •" and he has 
given it in charge to them, and to those who in every 
age succeed them in this part of their office, that it 
should be published " to every creature," (Mark, 
16 : 15,) that all who believe in it may be saved by 
virtue of its abiding energy, and the immutable pow- 
er and grace of its divine Author, who is " the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Heb. 13:8. 

6. This Gospel do I therefore now preach and 
proclaim unto thee, O reader, with the sincerest de- 
sire that, through divine grace, it may " this very day 
be salvation to thy soul." Luke, 19 : 9. Know there- 
fore and consider it, whosoever thou art, that as 
surely as these words are now before thine eyes, so 
sure it is that the incarnate Son of God was " made 
a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men ;" 
(I Cor. 4: 9.) his back torn with scourges, his head 
with thorns, his limbs stretched out as on a rack, 
and nailed to the accursed tree ; and in this misera- 
ble condition he was hung bv his hands and feet, as 



he dn- in ■ .!:s of 

i blood ; and, 
which of all, in 

>»vd the most 
as spent 
bote supports of t: 

\mony of 
their out into 

. 
rent; '-ir hellish ma 

•heir 
toron 

I out, in ileal and holy 

soul. '• M . 
. 

I Look upon your 

lelightful 
L thine own hi I be- 

' ! thus? .\ 

di'l ! 

na, he 

upon him, 

1 him, 

i 
• I . rd la on him the 
I 10. Bo that 1 



NEWS OF SALVATION. 113 

you in the words of the apostle, " Be it known unto 
you therefore, that through this man is preached un- 
to you the forgiveness of sins :" (Acts, 13 : 38,) as it 
was his command, just after he arose from the dead, 
"that repentance and remission of sins should be 
preached in his name among all nations, beginning 
at Jerusalem," (Luke, 24 : 47,) the very place where 
his blood had so lately been shed in such a cruel 
manner. I do thereby testify to you, in the words 
of another inspired writer, that Christ was made sin, 
that is, a sin offering, " for us, though he knew no 
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him:" (2 Cor. 5: 21,) that is, that through the 
righteousness he has fulfilled, and the atonement he 
has made, we might be accepted by God as righte- 
ous, and be not only pardoned, but received into 
his favor. " To you is the word of this salvation 
sent," (Acts, 13 : 26,) and to you, O reader, are the 
blessings of it even now offered by God, sincerely 
offered ; so that, after all that I have said under the 
former heads, it is not your having broken the law 
of God that shall prove your ruin, if you do not also 
reject his Gospel. It is not all those legions of sms 
which rise up in battle array against you that shall 
be able to destroy you, if unbelief do not lead them 
on, and final impenitency do not bring up the rear. 
[ know that guilt is a timorous thing ; I will there- 
fore speak in the words of God himself, nor can any 
be more comfortable : " He that beiieveth on the So\\ 
10* 



1 1 1 

• 

vw;<lor de( 
of it, 

but after 

])irit. ; ' Rom. B 1 \ 

■ at- 
ed with i us aggTa ■ rthe- 

bath abounded, th< :■ ::»orc 

abound ; " thai i unto oV 

irhere it has had it and most 

I triumph, there " shall i ?s reign 

• ternal life, thi ] I our Lord." 

Rom. 5: 2 which on 

■ 
by which 

rnal ruin, rubes 

nf heaven, shall reign in in i 

with 

upon thee, without any eh it 

known thai th< □ 

i i I 5 

• leatary, ii af re- 



NEWS OF SALVATION. 115 

ieased from guilt, and entitled to this high and com- 
plete felicity, that thou shouldst, before thou wilt ven- 
ture to apply to Jesus, bring any good works of thine 
own to recommend thee to his acceptance. It is in- 
deed true, that, if thy faith be sincere, it will certain- 
ly produce them ; but I have the authority of the 
word of God to tell thee, that if thou this day sin- 
cerely believest in the name of the Son of God, thou 
shalt this day be taken under his care, and be num- 
bered among those of his sheep to whom he hath 
graciously declared that " he will give eternal life, 
and that they shall never perish." John, 10 : 28 
Thou hast no need therefore to say, "Who shall go 
up into heaven, or who shall descend into the deep 
for me ? For the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, 
and in thy heart." Rom. 10 : 6, 7, 8. With this joy- 
ful message I leave thee ; with this faithful saying, 
indeed "worthy of all acceptation;" (1 Tim. 1 : 
15;) with this Gospel, O sinner, which is my life ; 
and which, if thou dost not reject, will be thine too. 

The Sinner's Reflection on this Good News. 

" O my soul, how astonishing is the message 
which thou hast this day received ! I have indeed 
often heard it before, and it is grown so common to 
me, that the surprise is not sensible. But reflect, O 
my soul, what it is thou hast heard, and say whe- 
ther the name of a Savior, whose message it is, may 
not well be called 'Wonderful, Counsellor,' (Isaiah, 



KIW8 Of SALVATION*. 

riders 
o/Joi ftclsofpeacel 

I it not the 
fiction oi • • ! V. 

hum : . . 

I 

ind joy ol 
passion to si; i 

irom thai nity and : 

down ii} ;nd sent ft 

■....• 1 . 
|] admiration, and I 

■ 

; . ; i 

V, had 

that 

I 

illustrious It i 

. bill kept lh« Q trail ami u n 

• 

us thou ! 

iuno 
jun blood. 1 B 



NEWS OF SALVATION. 117 

" What shall I say ? ' Lord, I believe ; help thou 
my unbelief!' Mark, 9 : 24. It seems to put faith to 
the stretch, to admit what it indeed exceeds the ut- 
most stretch of imagination to conceive. Blessed, 
for ever blessed be thy name, O thou Father of mer- 
cies, that thou hast contrived the way ! Eternal 
thanks to the Lamb that was slain, and to that kind 
Providence that sent the word of this salvation to 
me ! O let me not, for ten thousand worlds, ' receive 
the grace of God in vain !' 2 Cor. 6:1.0 impress 
this Gospel upon my soul, till its saving virtue be 
diffused over every faculty ! Let it not only be heard, 
and acknowledged, and professed, but felt ! Make it 
' thy power to my eternal salvation ;' (Rom. 1 : 16.) 
and raise me to that humble, tender gratitude, to that 
active, unwearied zeal in thy service, which becomes 
one 'to whom so much is forgiven,' (Luke, 7: 47.) 
and forgiven upon such terms as these. 

" I feel a sudden glow in mine heart while these 
tidings are sounding in mine ears ; but, oh ! let it 
not be a slight superficial transport ! O let not this, 
which I would fain call my Christian joy, be as that 
foolish laughter, with which I have heen so madly 
enchanted, * like the crackling blaze of thorns under 
a pot!' Eccles. 7:6. O teach me to secure this 
mighty blessing, this glorious hope, in the method 
which thou hast appointed ; and preserve me from 
mistaking the joy of nature, while it catches a 
glimpse of its rescue from destruction, for that con- 



• AI MOTV OBTAINED. 

uret the dc- 



cilAI'J ER IX 



h rn 

SALVATION' IS TO EK 

1. An inquiry into the iron of miration by Christ bring sup- 

9 7 ' 
— ;; .1 -nee. — 4. 

of more 

'' . ' 

former 
■ ' 

into the A.. 

great - i" II 

— 11. That he r: 

- 
d of obtain' . < , 

i 1 n iomiaf 

quiry which t: 

wc may 
work the w 



SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. 119 

vation which I am told Christ has procured for his 
people ?" I would answer it as seriously and care- 
fully as possible, as one that knows of what impor- 
tance it is to you to be rightly informed ; and that 
knows also how strictly he is to answer to God for 
the sincerity and care with which the reply is made. 
May I be enabled to "speak as his oracle," (1 Pet. 
4 : 11,) that is in such a manner as faithfully to echo 
back what the sacred oracles teach! 

2. And here, that I may be sure to follow the safest 
guides and the fairest examples, I must preach sal- 
vation to you in the way of " repentance toward God, 
and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," (Acts, 20 : 
21,) that good old doctrine which the apostles 
preached, and which no man can pretend to change 
but at the peril of his own soul, and of theirs who 
attend to him. 

3. I suppose that you are by this time convinced 
of your guilt and condemnation, and of your own 
inability to recover yourself. Let me nevertheless 
urge you to feel that conviction yet more deeply, and 
to impress it with yet greater weight upon your soul ; 
that you have " undone yourself," and that " in your- 
self is not your help found." Hos. 13: 9. Be per- 
suaded, therefore, expressly, and solemnly, and sin- 
cerely, to give up all self-dependence ; which, if you 
do not guard against it, will be ready to return se- 
cretly before it is observed, and will lead you to at- 
tempt building up what you have just been destroying. 



must aacribe that salvation em 

*erable as you are, you arc 
not only accepted, bd •• lay down 

your with all humble ackn< 

•'before the tur l must 

. must 
lor of him ar 

ide unto us wisdot: 

on, and redemption.'' 
. An : •. 
you arc in none of th 

yourself, to need them i:i anotfa must there- 

fore be sensible that guilty, 

polluted an : 
with r- 

M>n, that as :i sinner ,- yt»u ar«- \vr 
ible, and | .:. and D .. 

;; 17. 

impressed upo-. 
mind you will be prepared t i 
1 [ear, I 

ad your safety : which consists 
ill this, •■ Thai j 
abhorrence of y 

them foi 
■ 

i- your ac 

;r, and 



SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. 121 

when you have actually done the best you ever will 
do in consequence of that purpose. 

6. The first and most important advice that I can 
give you in your present circumstances, is, that you 
look to Christ and apply yourself to him. And here, 
say not in your heart, " who shall ascend into hea- 
ven, to bring him down to me?" (Rom. 10 : 6.) or, 
" who shall raise me up thither, to pr^pnt me be- 
fore him ?" The blessed " Jesus, by whom all things 
consist," (Col. 1 : 17,) by whom the whole system 
of them is supported, " forgotten as he is by most 
that bear his name," "is not far from any of us;" 
(Acts, 17 : 27,) nor could he have promised to have 
been " wherever two or three are met together in his 
name," (Matt. 18 : 20,) but in consequence of those 
truly divine perfections, by which he is every where 
present. Would you therefore, O sinner, desire to be 
saved? Go to the Savior. Would you desire to be 
delivered ? Look to that great Deliverer ; and though 
you should be overwhelmed with guilt, and shame, 
and fear, or horror, that you should be incapable of 
speaking to him, fall down in this speechless con- 
fusion at his feet, "and behold him as the Lamb 
of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." 
John, 1 : 29. * 

7. Behold him therefore with an attentive eye, 
and say whether the sight does not touch, and even 
melt thy very heart ! Dost thou not feel what a fool- 
ish and what a wretched creature thou hast been, 

J J R. & Progress. 






• a I \ \ ri OBTAOTl\ 

that, f r and sordid gratifica- 

tions ami interest! as. those which thou hast been 
pursui' the Prn 

Id the deep wounds 
he bore for thee, "look on him whom thou ha;-*, 
ed, and rarely thou must mourn," (ZocIl 13 : 10.) 

thinj hem 
of thy pa^Bins u reflect upon, and say, 

while to have thus injured 
rposed the Son of < I 
auch rafieringi I And what future 

m considerable, that thou shouldst 

ike of this I will crucify my Lord a. 

Sinner, thou i . ist re- 

pent oi ... and must forsake it ; but, if thou 

■ will know it must be at 
the foot of the cross. 1 ry lust, 

even tin- dearest, though it should be like a "right 

and therc- 

! to it, 

! led thee to th i which " Christ him- 

I 
smelling savor " Eph, 
gp tli\ 

l 

ed with cur nipt 

!. that 
i h and without spot" 1 1' 



SALVATION, HOW OBTAINED. 123 

18, 19. And now I would ask thee, as before the 
Lord, what does thine own heart say to it ? Art thou 
grieved for thy former offences 1 Art thou willing 
to forsake thy sins ? Art thou willing to become the 
cheerful, thankful servant of him who hath purchas- 
ed thee with his own blood 1 

8. I will suppose such a purpose as this rising in 
thine heart. How determinate it is, and how effectual 
it may be, I know not ; what different views may 
arise hereafter, or how soon the present sense may 
wear off. But this I assuredly know, that thou wilt 
never see reason to change these views; for however 
thou mayest alter, the " Lord Jesus Christ is the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever." Heb. 13: 8. 
And the reasons that now recommend repentance 
and faith as fit and necessary, will continue invaria- 
ble as long as the perfections of the blessed God are 
the same, and as long as his Son continues the same. 

9. But while you have these views and these pur- 
poses, I must remind you that this is not all which 
is necessary to your salvation. You must not only 
purpose, but, as God gives opportunity, you must act 
as those who are convinced of the evil of sin, and of 
the necessity and excellence of holiness. And that 
you may be enabled to do so in other instances, you 
must in the first place, and as the first great work of 
God, (as our Lord himself calls it,) " believe in him 
whom God hath sent;" (John, 6 : 29 ;) you must 
confide in him; must commit your soul into the 



IAOI OF mMIMH 

10 be sate. .!, his own "njv 

of aaltati is the great act 

. may expe- 
riment . Dt, so as to be able to 
say with the ap< in the n«- 4 death 
i I i -d, and am per* 
tuaded that he is able to keep that which I have 
commr.1. >i to bin until ll I 12,) 

stians. 

i this 1 woul : 

I ivild be so happy as to engage 

you to it while I am illustrating it in this and the 

follow!:. iee I Be at an I yon moat not ap- 

uieelf immediately to CJod absolutely, or in 

■t of a Mediator. It 

will i. acceptable to him, nor safe I 

to rush into hit without ai to his 

horn he h *.o introduce sin- 

aim. And if 3 . you come 

ner of 
: as a denial 
• LTiult with which hfl knows von lie charge- 
able ; and therefore he will not admit you. nor so 
much as look- up, r Lord, 

m much - 

ed in t in the most nniverael ti »He 

i unto tl John, 

lu Apply '■•■•■ H eemer, 



LANGUAGE OF SUBMISSION. 125 

amiable as he will appear to every believing eye in 
the blood which he shed upon the cross, and in the 
wounds which he received there. Go to him, O sin- 
ner ! this day, this moment, with all thy sins about 
thee. Go just as thou art ; for if thou wilt never 
apply to him till thou art first righteous and holy, 
thou wilt never be righteous and holy at all ; nor 
canst be so on this supposition, unless there were 
some way of being so without him ; and then there 
would be no occasion for applying to him for right- 
eousness and holiness. It were indeed as if it should 
be said that a sick man should defer his application 
to a physician till his health is recovered. Let me 
therefore repeat it without offence, go to him just as 
thou art, and say, (0 that thou mayest this moment 
be enabled to say it from thy very soul !) " Blessed 
Jesus, I am surely one of the most sinful and one 
of the most miserable creatures that ever fell pros- 
trate before thee ; nevertheless I come, because I 
have heard that thou didst once say, ' Come unto me 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest.' Matt. 12: 28. I come, because I 
have heard that thou didst graciously say, 'Him that 
corneth unto me I will in no wise cast out.' John, 
6 : 35. O thou Prince of Peace, O thou King ot 
Glory ! I am a condemned, miserable sinner ; I have 
ruined my own soul, and am condemned for ever, 
if thou dost not help me and save me. I have broken 
thy Father's law and thine ; for thou art ■ one with 
11* 






I 'J'. KUEJfTIAL. 

him.' J I iiare desertvd con( 

and wrath ; and 

instruction, a destruc- 

will be aggm ill the contempt 

<-ast upon Lamb 

of Go ! I for 1 I and will not diasemble it be- 

I wronged thee, most bas- 

the character of a 

ing to submit to thee ; and I have brought my poor 
trembling soul to lodge it in thine hands, if thou 
wilt eoi ■ it : and if thou dost not, it 

must perish. lx>rd, I lie at thy I h out 

' thy g 111. 

I the life of my soul 
I have 

equ;vi ompassion- 

trt of thine can find a \ 

a, that 
re find " I. I 
foolishly atti 

not do. I am tonsil there- 

Em I :' ■•••• ft over, and look : thee, 

blessed J- 1 , u 1 desire 

■ 

>uld I build mv eternal I 
■ thou inn- rd, would I 

so mysterious, it is 



HOLY LIFE ESSENTIAL. 127 

enough for me that thou thyself hast said it. To 
thine atonement, obedience, and intercession, O thou 
holy and ever-acceptable High Priest, would I trust. 
And to thy government, O thou exalted Sovereign, 
would I yield a willing, delightful subjection : in 
token of reverence and love, ' I kiss the Son :' (Psalm 
2 : 12.) 1 kiss the ground before his feet. I admit 
thee, O my Savior ! and welcome thee, with unut- 
terable joy, to the throne in my heart. Ascend it, 
and reign there for ever ! Subdue mine enemies, O 
Lord, for they are thine ; and make me thy faithful 
and zealous servant : faithful to death, and zealous 
to eternity." 

11. Such as this must be the language of your 
very heart before the Lord. But then remember, 
that, in consequence thereof, it must be the language 
of your life too. The unmeaning words of the lips 
would be a vain mockery. The most affectionate 
transport of the passions, should it be transient and 
ineffectual, would be but like a blaze of straw, pre- 
sented, instead of incense, at his altar. With such 
humility, with such love, with such cordial self- 
dedication and submission of soul must thou often 
prostrate thyself in the presence of Christ ; and then 
thou must go away, and keep him in thy view; 
must go away, and live unto God through him, de- 
nying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and behaving 
thyself " soberly, righteously, and godly, in this vain 
ensnaring world." Tit. 2 : 12. You must make it 



M IV M 

y form- 

f, as much as possible, according to the 

ioid you b* 

i it the great p- .r ambition. 

and a i • ntertain, to be a liv- 

'. so far as cir 
will a! id but 

■ - 
that of the 
is. And this must be your c< 
can-, \ r, as long as you live. 

Fou mast follow him whit hen Is you; 

How with a cross on alder, when he 

commands yon I . \ ) and 

50 must 1-l" faithful even ui - "the 

P). 
12. I I i from 

• 

•:.•• only v. It is the way 

which • hful minisi 

i<< t r-- nliu lt ; and th< 
■ 
H would not alter it in favor « 

. li - 
which alom 
I 
I 

in tin iod, whether you ure willing to 



SINNER DELIBERATING. 129 

acquiesce in it or not. But know, that to reject it is 
thine eternal death. For as " there is no other name 
under heaven given among- men whereby we can be 
saved," (Acts, 4: 12,) but this of Jesus of Nazareth, 
so there is no other method but this in which Jesus 
himself will save us. 

The Sinner deliberating on the Expediency of falling m with 
this Method of Salvation. 

" Consider, O my soul ! what answer wilt thou 
return to such proposals as these ? Surely, if I were 
to speak the first dictate of this corrupt and degene- 
rate heart, it would be, ■ This is a hard saying, and 
who can hear it V John, 6 : 60. To be thus hum- 
bled, thus mortified, thus subjected ! To take such a 
yoke upon me, and to carry it as long as I live ! 
To give up every darling lust, though dear to me as 
a right eye, and seemingly necessary as a right 
hand ! To submit not only my life, but my heart, to 
the command and discipline of another ! To have a 
master there, and such a master as will control many 
of its favorite affections, and direct them quite into 
another channel ! a master, who himself represents 
his commands, by taking up the cross and following 
him ! To adhere to the strictest rules of godliness 
and sobriety, of righteousness and truth ; not depart 
ing from them in any allowed instance, great or 
small upon any temptation, for any advantage, to 



no no. 

escape any inco no, not eren for 

t, upon a prop 
I n my own 

I. ii hard to flesh and 

blood ; nnti n is one de- 

• 
■ With all these precautions, with all these morti- 
: *, the pr: i Id find some in- 

ward I I I but tec 

I . my own savior, tl. 

dom a: solution had \ i bands 

and chains of th«' enemy, and that I had drav. 

own treasures the price with which my rc- 
demptj lownbefcre 

anoth* r 

less? And must the obligation be multiplied, and 

I go to 
H for my . glory from 

•amy of ti M mip ped o: 

ousness, and stand, in this 
m a level with 

at the h;ir amongst tl minals, p ! 

with them, an 

ed it. 
" I . ul H un- 

M 

iod ns an in 
■ 
it all these humblii 



SINNER DELIBERATING. 131 

that it is fit a convicted criminal should be brought 
upon his knees ; that a captive rebel should give up 
the weapons of his rebellion and bow before his 
sovereign, if he expects his life. Yea, my reason 
as well as my conscience tells me that it is fit and 
necessary that, if I am saved at all, I should be saved 
from the power and love of sin, as well as from the 
condemnation of it ; and that, if sovereign mercy gives 
me a new life, after having deserved eternal death, 
it is most fit I should 'yield myself to God as alive 
from the dead.' Rom. 6:13. But, ' O wretched man 
that I am ! I feel a law in my members that wars 
against the law of my mind,' (Rom. 7 : 23, 24,) and 
opposes the conviction of my reason and conscience. 
Who shall deliver me from this bondage? Who 
shall make me willing to do that which I know in 
my own soul to be most expedient ? O Lord, subdue 
my heart, and let it not be drawn so strongly one 
way, while the nobler powers of my mind would di- 
rect it another ! Conquer every licentious principle 
within, that it may be my joy to be so wisely go- 
verned and restrained ! Especially subdue my pride, 
that lordly corruption which so ill suits an impove- 
rished and condemned creature, that thy way of sal- 
vation may be made amiable to me in proportion to 
the degree in which it is humbling ! I feel a dis- 
position to ' linger in Sodom, but O be merciful to 
me, and pull me out of it,' (Gen. 19 : 16,) before the 
storm of thy flaming vengeance fall, and there be no 
more escaping I" 



132 nir «in 



CHAPTKK X. 



no mm eduoiii.y mnco i.vd vmturtD to accxpt op 

1 I many vko hare been impressed with tkese things ruf- 

fe r tke impression to icear ofj .j as Lie case speaks 

'vitkissah 

3 A entreated— by tke majesty and 

mercy of Cod.— i late of our Lord Jesus 

it regard due to our JelUnp-crtatw 

I matter u so- 
before God, Tke sinner yield- 
ing to thru entreat iff, and dt ccevtance ofsaiva- 

1. Tins fir convictions and 

I . the strong- 

ugain. 

ever joined by the inward rein nsanc- 

tified bemrt to thii holy and humbling 5cheme of 

iption, baa been the rum t>t' multitudes. 
^through the deceitfo 

i nil they •* i re been 

" uttci ihout r- in 

H : l. And lh i immoit 

id !i • then i leech the**, 

i 



THE SINNER ENTREATED. 133 

there are these balancings of mind between accept- 
ing and rejecting that glorious Gospel, which, in the 
integrity of my heart, I have now been laying before 
you, you would once more give me an attentive audi- 
ence while I plead, in God's behalf shall I say ? or 
rather in your own ; while, " as an ambassador for 
Christ, and as though God did beseech you by me, 
I pray you in Christ's stead that you would be re- 
conciled to God," (2 Cor. 5 : 20,) and would not, 
after these awakenings and these inquiries, by a 
madness which it will surely be the doleful busi- 
ness of a miserable eternity to lament, reject this 
compassionate counsel of God towards you. 

2. One would indeed imagine there should be no 
need of importunity here. One would conclude, that 
as soon as perishing sinners are told that an offend- 
ed God is ready to be reconciled, that he offers them 
a full pardon for all their aggravated sins, yea, that 
he is willing to adopt them into his family now, that 
he may at length admit them to his heavenly pre- 
sence ; all should, with the utmost readiness and 
pleasure, embrace so kind a message, and fall at his 
feet in speechless transports of astonishment, grati- 
tude, and joy. But, alas ! we find it much otherwise. 
We see multitudes quite unmoved, and the impres- 
sions which are made on many more are feeble and 
transient. Lest it should be thus with j^ou, O reader ! 
let me urge the message with which I have the honor 
to be charged ; let me entreat you to be reconciled 

i O R. & Progress 



134 mi UMJIBa ismtATiD. 

to God, and to accept of pardon and salvation in the 

bich it is so freely offered to j 

1 ' iod in 

I s all heaven 

with :e and ot ! not in 

vain to legions ofnn \e\t . r could be any 

contentio -ed spirits, it would be, 

should \ ■ 
lot him not speak in vain to 1 

entreat you, ' : 'his wrath," who could 

\k to you in lb io could. nglc 

act of his will, cut off this precarious life of yours, 
and send you down to Bfeech you by Ins 

mercies, by his tender i v the bowels of his 

ton, which still u as those of 

a pmicnl lild, 

inner un 
lion. -rs still.' 

I ood- 

ncs.». ompel hi::. 

lose the e in that o: 

righteoaa Jud 

whom he Bona and 

ball be kindled in I 
which shall bum unto the lowest I i 

1. 1 I love 



THE SINNER ENTREATED. 135 

which ho voluntarily submitted, " that you might be 
enriched" with eternal treasures ; (2 Cor. 8 : 9,) by 
all the gracious invitations which he gave, which 
still sound in his word, and still coming, as it were, 
warm from his heart, are " sweeter than honey, or 
the honey-comb." Psalm 19 : 10. I beseech you by 
all his glorious works of power and of wonder, which 
were also works of love. I beseech you by the me- 
mory of the most benevolent person and the most 
generous friend. I beseech you by the memory of 
what he suffered, as well as of what he said and did ; 
by the agony which he endured in the garden when 
his body was covered " with a dew of blood." Luke, 
22 : 44. I beseech you by all that tender distress 
which he felt when his dearest friends " forsook him 
and fled," (Matt. 26 : 56,) and his blood-thirsty ene- 
mies dragged him away like the meanest of slaves, 
and like the vilest of criminals. I beseech you by 
the blows and bruises, by the stripes and lashes 
which this injured Sovereign endured while in their 
rebellious hands; by the shame of spitting, from 
which he hid not that kind and venerable counte- 
nance. Isa. 50 : 6. I beseech you by the purple 
robe, the scepter of reed, and the crown of thorns 
which this King of Glory wore that he might set 
us among the princes of heaven. Psalm 113 : 8. I 
beseech you by the heavy burden of " the cross," 
under which he panted, and toiled, and fainted in 
the painful way "to Golgotha," (John, 19 : 17,) that 



136 

he i ris. I be- 

seer! me rude nails 

• ins and 

cibh unphant goodness, • the 

<io." 
! thai unutterab.' 

up upon the cross, 
and \ painful 

• ■ 
influences which hi hun thousands ami 

ten tl >u by all 

that insult an a which the " Lord of Glory 

bore then ) by that parch 

v obtain I ar," 

(John, 19 o astonis: 

inthi 

why hasi 

that subdued 
and pardoned "a dying malel i . 

pas- 
which wrought in his 
its vital motion contin I not 

e bowed lus I 
•nd gave up J •. [ beseech 

you by the triumphs ..[ 

Ii" w ton of God with now- 



THE SINNER ENTREATED. 137 

plish it, (Rom. 1:4,) by that gracious tenderness 
which attempered all those triumphs, when he said 
to her out of whom he had cast seven devils, con- 
cerning his disciples who had treated him so basely, 
" Go, tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Father and 
your Father, unto my God and your God." John, 
20 : 17. I beseech you by that condescension with 
which he said to Thomas, when his unbelief had 
made such an unreasonable demand, u Reach hither 
thy finger, and behold mine hands, and reach hither 
thine hand, and thrust it into my side ; and be not 
faithless, but believing." John, 20 : 27. I beseech you 
by that generous and faithful care of his people, 
which he carried up with him to the regions of 
glory, and which engaged him to send down " his 
Spirit," in that rich profusion of miraculous gifts, to 
spread the progress of his saving word. Acts, 2 : 33. 
I beseech you by that voice of sympathy and power 
with which he said to Saul, while injuring his church, 
" Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts, 9 : 4,) 
by that generous goodness which spared that pros- 
trate enemy when he lay trembling at his feet, and 
raised him to so high a dignity as to be " not inferior 
to the very chiefest apostles." 2 Cor. 12 : 11. I be- 
seech you by the memory of all that Christ hath al- 
ready done ; by the expectation of all he will farther 
do for his people. I beseech you, at once, by the 
scepter of his grace, and by that sword of his justice 
with which all his incorrigible "enemies" shall be 
12* 



139 1U> IED. 

<»u do not 

trifle aw i I Spirit 

is thus bi do not lose an 

opportunity which D ind on th» 

■ 

I 1 the bowels of com pas- 

hl'ul ministers of 
Chr and laboring, prear 

and praying, out their time, exhau 

thru 

I, for the salvation o: il, and of souls 

your- I eech you by t on with which 

all that luv.' our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity long 
to s< U to him. 1 

the friendship of the lh 
the dead, by the ruin who hat 

tys and p i by 

the happii 
pel, and an saved by it. I beeeec 

m of that imp ! .ord 

. 1 
• *• the terrors of a 
3 : 10,) by the " sound of th< 
(1 These, i 16, and of that infinite!] twful 

1 I snd " I i 

with which that gran 

M. 
6. 1 

mto the in 



THE SINNER ENTREATED. 139 

and as you would feel one spark of comtort in your 
departing spirit, when your flesh and your heart are 
failing-. I beseech you, by your own persona, appear- 
ance before the tribunal of Christ, (for a personal ap- 
pearance it must be, even to them who now sit on 
thrones of their own;) by all the transports of the 
blessed, and by all the agonies of the damned, the 
one or the other of which must be your everlasting 
portion. I affectionately entreat and beseech you, in 
the strength of all these united considerations, as 
you will answer it to me, who may in that day be 
summoned to testify against you ; and, which is un- 
speakably more, as you will answer it to your con- 
science, as you will answer it to the eternal Judge, 
that you dismiss not these thoughts, these medita- 
tions, and these cares, till you have brought matters 
to a happy issue ; till you have made resolute choice 
of Christ, and his appointed way of salvation ; and 
till you have solemnly devoted yourself to God in the 
bonds of an everlasting covenant. 

7. And thus \ leave the matter before you, and 
before the Lord. I have told you my errand; I have 
discharged rny embassy. Stronger arguments I can- 
not use ; more endearing and more awful considera- 
tions I cannot suggest. Choose, therefore, whether 
you will go out, as it were clothed in sackcloth, to 
cast yourself at the feet of him who now sends you 
these equitable and gracious terms of peace and par- 
don ; or whether you will hold it out till he appears 



140 SINNER VIM kYlM 

sword in hand to n your treasons 

and JTOOI era :.<-glected embassy 

would I hope 
that this labor of love shall 
be so entirely unsuccessful, that not one soul shall 
hi to th. ..rist in cordial submis- 

sion and humble faith, .'.h you," therefore, 

M WOlde, and turn unto the Lord;'' (Hos. 14 

I » that those wlii.'h follow might, in effect at 

one that 

- them I 

The Sumtr fUMmg t» thru: Entreaties, and declaring ku 
acceptance of Salvation by Christ. 

ssed Lord, it is enough ! It is too much ! 
Surely there needs not this variety of arguments, 
this importunity oi ion, to court me to be 

happy, to prevail on me to i | ardon, of life, 

ternftf glory. I Savior, my soul is 

subdued; so that I trust the Ian 
is become that of my penitence, and I l • my 

neart is melted like wax in then. 
22 : 14. 

R emer ! I hare eln 

fd thee tOO long. I ha?e I injured tl. 

thee afresh by my guilt and iin: ■ 

in • pnttin 

an open shame." H.b 6:6. Hut my heart now 



SINNER YIELDING TO ENTREATIES. 141 

bows itself before thee in humble, unfeigned sub- 
mission. I desire to make no terms with thee but 
these — that I may be entirely thine. I cheerfully 
present thee with a blank, entreating thee that thou 
will do me the honor to signify upon it what is thy 
pleasure. Teach me, O Lord, what thou wouldst 
have me to do ; for I desire to learn the lesson, and 
to learn it that I may practice it. If it be more than 
my feeble powers can answer, thou wilt, I hope, give 
me more strength ; and in that strength I will serve 
thee. O receive a soul which thou hast made will- 
ing to be thine ! 

11 No more, O blessed Jesus, no more is it neces- 
sary to beseech and entreat me. Permit me rather 
to address myself to thee, with all the importunity of 
a perishing sinner, that at length sees and knows 
1 there is salvation in no other !' Acts, 4:12. Permit 
me now, Lord, to come and throw myself at thy feet 
like a helpless outcast that has no shelter but in thy 
gracious compassion ! like one ' pursued by the aven- 
ger of blood,' and seeking earnestly an admittance 
1 into the city of refuge !' Josh. 20 : 2, 3. 

" « I wait for the Lord ; my soul doth wait ; and 
in thy word do I hope,' (Psalm 130 : 5.) that thou 
wilt 'receive me graciously.' Hos. 14 : 2. My 
soul confides in thy goodness, and adores it. I adore 
the patience which has borne with me so long ; and 
the grace that now makes me heartily willing to be 
thine : to be thine on thine own terms, thine on any 



149 B1NKIB V I ELI EKTBBA1 

I to thyself 
to thee in ; arable bonds, that r. 

nenta of t: blood, none of the 

vanities of BR I . ;" the solicita- 

tions of sinful com; ick from 

and plan v guilt and ruin! 'Be 

i for good,' (Psalm 

1 I'. 1 . hold on tl 

and so on eternal life ; till at length I know more 
fully, by joyful and everlasting experience, how 
complete a Savior thou art. Amen." 



APFEAL TO THE DOUBTING. 143 



CHAPTER XL 

A SOLEMN ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE PERSUADED 
TO FALL IN WITH THE DESIGN OF THE GOSPEL. 

1. Universal success not to be expected. — 2-4. Yet, as unwil- 
ling absolutely to give up any, the author addresses those who 
doubt the truth of Christianity, urging an inquiry into its 
evidences, and directing to proper methods for that purpose. 
5. Those who determine to give it up without further exa- 
mination. — 6. And presume to set themselves to oppose it. 
7, S. Those who speculatively assent to Christianity as true, 
and yet will sit down without any practical regard to its most 
important and acknowledged truths. Such are dismissed with 
2 representation of the absurdity of their conduct on their 
own principles. — 9, 10. With a solemn warning of its fatal 
consequences. — 11. And a compassionate prayer, which con- 
cludes this chapter, and this part of the wcrk. 

1. I would humbly hope that the preceding- chap- 
ters will be the means of awakening some stupid and 
insensible sinners, the means of convincing- them 
of their need of Gospel-salvation, and of engaging 
some cordially to accept it. Yet I cannot flatter my- 
self so far as to hope this should be the case with 
regard to all into whose hands this book shall come. 
M What am I, alas! better than my fathers," (1 
Kings, 19 : 4,) or better than my brethren, who 
have in all ages been repeating their complaint, 
with regard to multitudes, that they " have stretch- 
ed out their hand all day long to a disobedient and 
gainsaying people!" Rom. 10: 21. Many such 



in km m. i" 

read* 

"i (it- rat ions ol 

rience to expires mil 

not ' i will not 

lami '.ll it . I 

mi, if the* 

ehapter 1 must take my leav< 

could do it in such a m 

some coiiYiction ' hi 

seem to ]• D for a lit: 

:i the former cha] ioso 

in which 

. 

-which it ; I ..hap- 

lienl vrhoj i 

u incut*! 

amine* the several syi 

there be not Bome one of them n than 

the rest, which i 

■j. Bo wrou d I \ 

not find in v •• the 

pel, t<» aj i 
up 10 
bus.'ii i ; 



APPEAL TO THE DOUBTING. 145 

you to do this, let me engage you, at least, to an- 
swer me, or rather to answer your own conscience, 
" Why you will not do it ?" Is it owing to any se- 
cret disbelief of the great principles of religion ? If 
it be, the case is different from what I have yet con- 
sidered, and the cure must be different. This is not 
a place to combat with the scruples of infidelity. 
Nevertheless, I would desire you seriously to in- 
quire " How far those scruples extend?" Do they 
affect any particular doctrine of the Gospel on 
which my argument hath turned ; or do they affect 
the whole Christian revelation ? Or do they reach 
yet farther, and extend themselves to natural reli- 
gion, as well as revealed; so that it should be a 
doubt with you, whether there be any God, and 
providence, and future state, or not % As these cases 
are all different, so it will be of great importance to 
distinguish the one from the other ; that you may know 
on what principles to build as certain, in the exami- 
nation of those concerning which you are yet in doubt. 
But, whatever these doubts are, I would farther 
ask you, " How long have they continued, and what 
method have you taken to get them resolved ?" Do 
you imagine, that, in matters of such moment, it will 
be an allowable case for you to trifle on, neglecting 
to inquire into the evidence of these things, and then 
plead your not being satisfied in that evidence, as 
an excuse for not acting according to them ? Must 
not the principles of common sense assure you, that, 

£3 K. & Progress. 



ri50 

if lh( 

at least possi- 
ble '. 

than any of th< r of 

glee: 
and 

h probably COB 

. I v. Wh you should take 

i hard qu< 
I to think : let con- 
and verily do I believe, that, if it I :i an 

uncomn. r-bodings 

of the certainty both of natural an I ^ion, 

and of the absolute n 
holi- I 

son of any learnin 
wri'.' 

defended. And if 
most every tow 

nd ofans 
learned i met with. 

thr I 

. and trifle not with mathematici 

■ 



APPEAL TO THE DOUBTING. 147 

this. Study the argument as for your life ; for much 
more than life depends on it. See how far you are 
satisfied, and why that satisfaction reaches no farther. 
Compare evidences on both sides. And, above all, 
consider the design and tendency of the New Testa- 
ment. See to what it will lead you, and all them 
that cordially obey it, and then say whether it be 
not good. And consider how naturally its truth is 
connected with its goodness. Trace the character 
and sentiments of its authors, whose living image, if 
I may be allowed the expression, is still preserved in 
their writings ; and then ask your heart, can you 
think this was a forgery, an impious, cruel forgery? 
for such it must have been, if it were a forgery at all : 
a scheme to mock God, and to ruin men, even the 
best of men, such as reverenced conscience, and would 
abide all extremities for what they apprehended to be 
truth. Put the question to your own heart, Can I in 
my conscience believe it to be such an imposture ? 
Can I look up to an omniscient God, and say, " O 
Lord, thou knowest that it is in reverence to thee, and 
in love to truth and virtue, that I reject this book, and 
the method to happiness here laid down." 

4. But there are difficulties in the way. And what 
then % Have those difficulties never been cleared ? 
Go to the living advocates for Christianity, to those 
of whose abilities, candor and piety you have the 
best opinion, if your prejudices will give you leave to 
have a good opinion of any such ; tell them your dif- 
ficulties ; hear their solutions ; weigh them serious- 



146 Am ai TO i HI DOUBTTWf 

ly. n ". 

truth as far as 
tat you do not " im- 
. 1 : 18. 
thing ird than 

id dissatisfaction in the 
unot 
:.en at the 
same time he riolal at apparent dictates of 

.1 conscience, and ti -s condemned 

be heathen. 8irs ! Christ lias judged con- 
cerning such, and judged most righteously and most 
wisely: " They do evil, and therefore they hate the 
light: neither come they to the light, lest their deeds 
should be mad? manifl John, 

50. But th that will make ma; 

and reprove their works, to which they will he com- 
1 to come, and the painful scrutiny of which 
shall be forced to a ; 

In the mean time, if you an* determined to in- 
quire no farther into the matter now, <:i\v me !• 
at least, from a sincere concern that 
heap upon your head more a I ruin, to en- 

that you won. 
po- ■ your ell to j what you 

own to be OH 1 met] 

•hers from believing the truth o; 
the < k>S] i \ and for 

your and those 



Al'l'EAL TO THE DOUBTING. 149 

hopes which nothing but Christianity can give 
them ; and act not as if you were solicitous to add to 
the guilt of an infidel the tenfold damnation which 
they, who have been the perverters and destroyers 
of the souls of others, must expect to meet, if that 
Gospel, which they have so adventurously opposed, 
shall prove, as it certainly will, a serious, and to 
them a dreadful truth. 

6. If I cannot prevail here, (but the pride of dis- 
playing a superiority of understanding should bear 
on such a reader, even in opposition to his own fa- 
vorite maxims of the innocence of error and the 
equality of all religions consistent with social virtue, 
to do his utmost to trample down the Gospel with 
contempt) 1 would, however, dismiss him w r ith one 
proposal, which I think the importance of the affair 
may fully justify. If you have done w r ith your ex- 
amination into Christianity, and determine to live 
and conduct yourself as it were assuredly false, sit 
down, then, and make a memorandum of that deter- 
mination. Write it down : 

" On such a day of such a year, I deliberately re- 
solved that I would live and die rejecting Christianity 
myself, and doing all I could to overthrow it. This 
day I determined, not only to renounce all subjection 
to, and expectation from Jesus of Nazareth, but also 
to muke it a serious part of the business of my life, 
to destroy, as far as I possibly can, all regard to him 
in the minds of others, and to exert my most vigor- 
13* 



150 DSIAD1 ii. CAI 

ous effort, ii. ridicule, to 

sink the it be possible, 

to root i: out of the wor y defiance 

of that daj lowers ray. He shall appear 

in so m . » execute the 

yea nee thrt 

in, who would be thought a deist, and 
r, would not. 
jf you in particular dare not do it, whence does that 
small remainder of caution arise? Thecausi 

There is in your conscience some s» hen- 

sion that this rejected, this opposed, this derided 
Gospel may, after all, prove true. And if there be 
such an apprehension, then let conscience do its of- 
fice, and convict you of the impious madness o: 
Dig as if it were most certainly and demons! r 

Let it tell you at large, how possible it is that 
" haply you may be found I 

(Acts, 5 : 30.) that, bold as yr>u are in defying the 
terrors of the Lord, you may possibly fall into his 
hands; mny chance to hear that ties: 
which, when you hear it from the mouth of the - 
Dal Judge, you will not be able to I will re- 

i in. in spitf of all your scorn : you may 
hear the King say to yon, "Depart, accursed, 

prepared for the devil and his an- 
25 11 And now, go and pervert and 
'tire, p-o and satirize the eha r 



ADDRESS TO NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 151 

ter of its heroes, and ridicule the sublime discourses 
of its prophets and its apostles, as some have done, 
who have left behind them but the short lived monu- 
ments of their ignorance, their profaneness, and their 
malice. Go and spread, like them, the banners of in- 
fidelity, and pride thyself in the number of credulous 
creatures listed under them. But take heed lest the 
insulted Galilean direct a secret arrow to thine heart, 
and stop thy licentious breath before it has finished 
the next sentence thou wouldst utter against him. 

7. 1 will turn myself from the deist or the sceptic, 
and direct my address to the nominal Christian ; if 
he may upon any terms be called a Christian, who 
feels not, after all I have pleaded, a disposition to 
subject himself to the government and the grace of 
that Savior whose name he bears. O sinner, thou 
art turning away from my Lord, in whose cause I 
speak ; but let me earnestly entreat thee seriously to 
consider why thou art turning away ; and " to whom 
thou wilt go," from him whom thou acknowledgest 
" to have the words of eternal life." John, 6 : 63. 
You call yourself a Christian, and yet will not by 
any means be persuaded to seek salvation in good 
earnest from and through Jesus Christ, whom you 
call your Master and Lord. How do you for a mo- 
ment excuse this negligence to your own conscience ? 
If I had urged you on any controverted point it 
might have altered the case. If I had labored hard 
to make you the disciple of any particular party of 



Christians, y< 

to acqui 

- our 
. 
amoi -.uly, 

and righteous G mg, 

who and 

cow.. r sliould <. 

riously repent of his sins, or win 

on in them ? Is it a disputed | 

whether Jesus became incarnate, and died upon the 

cross for the redemption of sinners, or not % And if 

it he not, can it he disputed by them who believe him 

to be the Son of God and the Savior of men, whether 

:mer should seek to him, or neglect him 
wlu ther one who ; <>uld 

depart from iniquity, or give him 
tice of it ! Are the precepts t : 
written so obscurely in his word, that there sliould 
be room seriously to question whether he require a 
devout, holy, humble, spiritual, watchful, self-deny- 
ing life, or whether he allow th rial 

Christ, after all his pretensions of bringing life and 
immortality to light, left it more uncertain than DC 
found it, whether there be any future state ol" happi- 

and misery, or for whom tin - 
lively intended ' Is it a matter of controversy whethei 
God will, cr will not, '• bring every work into judg- 



ADDRESS TO NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 153 

ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or 
whether it be evil?" (Eccles. 12: 14.) or whether, 
at the conclusion of that judgment, " the wicked shall 
go away into everlasting punishment; and the righte- 
ous into life eternal?' Matt. 25: 46. You will not 
1 am sure, for very shame, pretend any doubt about 
these things, and yet call yourself a Christian. Why 
then will you not be persuaded to lay them to heart, 
and to act as duty and interest so evidently require ? 
O sinner, the cause is too obvious, a cause indeed 
quite unworthy of being called a reason. It is be- 
cause thou art blinded and besotted with thy vanities 
and thy lusts. It is because thou hast some perish- 
ing trifle, which charms thy imagination and thy 
senses, so that it is dearer to thee than God and 
Christ, than thy own soul and its salvation. It is, in 
a word, because thou art still under the influence of 
that carnal mind, which, whatever pious forms it 
may sometimes admit and pretend, " is enmity against 
God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither in- 
deed can be." Rom. 8 : 7. And therefore thou art 
in the very case of those wretches, concerning whom 
our Lord said in the days of his flesh, " Ye will not 
come unto me, that ye might have life," (John, 5 : 
40,) and therefore " ye shall die in your sins." John, 
8: 24. 

8. In this case I see not what it can signify, to 
renew those expostulations and addresses which I 
have made in the former chapters. As our blessed 



l, r )4 BIltN I \D 

' I ; 
. and hated both me and my Fatl 
(John. 1 1 ith regar : 

ami * Christ and the Father ; 

I liavr ui bligations to both ; 

I hi , guilt and your con; 

ii : 1 have pointed out lb 
pointed out the rock on which I have built my own 

ial hopes, and the way in which alone I 
Salvation. 1 have recommended those I 
which, if God gives me an opportunity, I will, \ 
my dying breath, earnestly and affectionate]] 
mend to my own children, and to ail the denies! 
friends that I have upon earth, who may then be 
near me, esteeming it th< 
ship, the sorest proof of my love to tl 
believing the Gospel to be true, o re- 

ject it, 1 have nothing Girth . but that 

must abide the consequence. Yet a M 
he went out from the presence of Pharaoh for the 
last time, finding his heart yet more hardened 1 j 
the judgments and deliverances with which lie had 
formerly been exercised, denounced upon bin 
passing through the land in terror to Bmite the I 

i with death, and warned him of that great 

lamentable cry, which the sword of ' VlUg 

angel should raise throughout ali his reali 

(Giod. 1 L . 1 -•'••) so will 1, sinner, now when 1 



SINNERS DEATH. 155 

quitting thee, speak to thee yet again, " whether 
thou wilt hear, or whether thou wilt forbear," (Ezek, 
2:7,) and denounce that much more terrible judg- 
ment, which the sword of divine vengeance, already- 
whetted and drawn, and " bathed, as it were, in hea- 
ven," (Isai. 34 : 5,) is preparing against thee; 
which shall end in a much more doleful cry, though 
thou wert greater and more obstinate than that 
haughty monarch. Yes, sinner, that I may, with 
the apostle Paul, when turning to others who are 
more likely to hear me, " shake my raiment, and 
say, I am pure from your blood," (Acts, 18 . 6,) I 
will once more tell you what the end of these things 
will be. And, O that I could speak to purpose ! O 
that I could thunder in thine ear such a peal of ter- 
ror as might awaken thee, and be too loud to be 
drowned in all the noise of carnal mirth, or to be 
deadened by those dangerous opiates with which 
thou art contriving to stupify thy conscience ! 

9. Seek what amusements and entertainments thou 
wilt, O sinner ! I tell thee, if thou wert equal in dig- 
nity, and power, and magnificence, to the " great 
monarch of Babylon, thy pomp shall be brought 
down to the grave, and all the sound of thy viols ; 
the worm shall be spread under thee, and the worm 
shall cover thee;" (Isai. 14 : 11.) yes, sinner, "the 
end of these things is death !" (Rom. 6 : 21.) death 
in its most terrible sense to thee, if this continue thy 
governing temper. Thou canst not avoid it ; and, if 



156 LTH, 

it b" possil le for any thing ihnt I can say to pre- 

i not 
the - 

Job, 6 : 12. 1 - ■•. M 

as others; an 

ill soon sec how : 

', and in 
views of eternity. You, th .rist, 

and trifle with his Gospel, w 

languish; shall see ail your i 
nal recreations and your vain companions I 
if perhaps one and another of them bolt in u 
and is brutish and despera ; . tpt to 

entertain a dying man with a gay storv, or a profane 
eill relish it. We shall 

what comfort you will ha g on what 

is past, or what hope in forward to what is 

to come. Perhaps, trembling and astonished, you 
will then be inquiring, in a wild kind of consterna- 
tion, " what you shall do to 
the ministers of Christ, whom y 
the earnestness with which tl labor to I 

your soul! and it may into a delirium, or 

dying convulsions, before they C80 COO) •. Ol per- 

h;i;>- . see you flatteri 

long, lingering illness, that you shall still recover, 

:tion and coin. 
tion, for fear it should overs irita. And the 

cruel kin la and physicians, as i( they 



SINNER IN THE JUDGMENT. 157 

were in league with Satan to make the destruction of 
your soul as sure as possible, may perhaps abet this 
fatal deceit. 

10. And if any of these probable cases happen, 
that is, in short, unless a miracle of grace snatch you 
•'as a brand out of the burning-," when the flames 
have, as it were ; already taken hold of you : all 
these gloomy circumstances, which pass in the 
chambers of illness and on the bed of death, are but 
the forerunners cf infinitely more dreadful things. 
Oh ! who can describe them ? Who can imagine 
them ? When surviving friends are tenderly mourn- 
ing over the breathless corpse, and taking a fond 
farewell of it before it is laid to consume away in 
the dark and silent grave, into what hands, O sin* 
ner ! will thy soul be fallen 1 What scenes will 
open upon thy separate spirit, even before thy de- 
serted flesh be cold, or thy sightless eyes are closed ? 
It shall then know what it is to return to God, to be 
rejected by him as having rejected his Gospel and 
his Son, and despised the only treaty of reconcilia- 
tion ; and that so amazingly condescending and gra- 
cious ! Thou shalt know what it is to be disowned 
by Christ, whom thou hast refused to entertain ; and 
what it is, as the certain and immediate consequence 
of that, to be left in the hands of the malignant spirits 
of hell. There will be no more friendship then : 
none to comfort, none to alleviate thy agony and dis- 
tress; but, on the contrary, all around thee laboring 

J 4 R. & Progress. 



158 FINN! :B in Tin. Jinr.MENT. 

Thou shalt pass 
a rate Stall 
dreadful expectation, ami bitter outcries of horror and 
remorse. And then il, 'he trumpet of 

the archangel, in w\ ra of that gloomy 

world thou art lodgi 1 md penetrate 

thy priaODi wl fill and ho] it is, thou 

shalt nevertheless wish that st still be 

nllov. le thy guilty h : than sh< 

before the face of that awful Judge, before whom 
" heaven and earth are fleeing awl 1 1 . 

But thou must come forth, and be re-united to a body 
now formed for ever to endure agonies, which in 
this mortal state would have dissolved it in a mo- 
ment. You would n >uaded to come to 
Chi i would stupidly neglect him, in 
spite of reason, in spite of conscience, in spite of nil 
the tender solicitations of ' 
peated admonitions of its i tful mini 
But now, sinner, you shall have an interview with 
him; if that may be called an il in which 
you will not dare to lift up your head to v.ew the 
face of your tremendous and inexorable Jud^e. 
There, ;it least, how distant soever th \ our 
life and the place of our abode may ha 'here 
shall we see how coura your heart will en- 
dure, am! how '■ strong youi hai when the 
Lord doth th . Ez k 22 i I. There shall 1 
bee thee, < l reader ! whoevi r thou art that guest on 



SINNER AN OBJECT OF PRAYER. 159 

in thine impenitency, among thousands and ten 
thousands of despairing wretches, trembling and 
confounded. There shall I hear thy cries among 
the rest, rending the very heavens in vain. The 
Judge will rise from his throne with majestic com- 
posure, and leave thee to be hurried down to those 
everlasting burnings, to which his righteous ven- 
geance hath doomed thee, because thou wouldst not 
be saved from them. Hell shall shut its mouth upon 
thee for ever, and the sad echo of thy groans and 
outcries shall be lost, amidst the hallelujahs of hea- 
ven, to all that find mercy of the Lord in that day. 
11. This will most assuredly be the end of these 
things ; and thou, as a nominal Christian, profess- 
est to know, and to believe it. It moves my heart at 
least, if it moves not thine. I firmly believe, that 
every one, who himself obtains salvation and glory, 
will bear so much of his Savior's image in wisdom 
and goodness, in zeal for God, and a steady regard 
to the happiness of the whole creation, that he will 
behold this sad scene with calm approbation, and 
without any painful commotion of mind. But as yet 
I am flesh and blood ; and therefore my bowels are 
troubled, and mine eyes often overflow with grief, to 
think that wretched sinners will have no more com- 
passion upon their own souls ; to think, that, in spite 
of all admonition, they will obstinately run upon 
final, everlasting destruction. It would signify no- 
thing here to add a prayer or a meditation for your 



100 I'RAYER FOK AS 

iture, you will not i ' . . 

I hav.- often i oared out my I 
in | rce of his 

distem] lered him ii 

I • I will now tod for yo 

unhappy ' And if j in bo much as 

ad what my compassii I nope, 

they who hai 

own souls, as they cannot b 

join with me in such cordial, though broken peti- 
tions as these : 



A prayer in behalf ,'f an Impenitent Sinner, in tin cast just 
described. 

" Almighty God ! * with thee all thii : ossi- 

ble.' Matt. 19 I humbly 

apply myself in behalf of this dear immortal soul, 
which thou hereseest perishi sins, and h 

ening itself against that everlasl . hich 

has been the power of God to the salvation c( so 
many thousands and million- T u art witnes 

• tod ! thou art witness to the plainness and 
. ith which the i deli- 

1. It is in thy presence thai these awful words 
have been written; and in thy | have they 

been read. Be pleased, therefore, to record it in the 
book of thy remembrance, that 'so, if tin 
man dieth in his iniquity, after the warning 



IMPENITENT SINNER. 161 

so plainly and solemnly given him, his blood may 
not be required at my hand,' (Ezek. 33 : 8, 9,) nor 
at the hand of that Christian friend, whoever he is, 
by whom this book has been procured for him, with 
a sincere desire for the salvation of his soul. Be wit- 
ness, O blessed 'Jesus, in the day in which thou 
shalt judge the secrets of all hearts.' (Rom. 2 : 16,) 
that thy Gospel hath been preached to this hardened 
wretch, and salvation by thy blood hath been offer- 
ed him, though he continued to despise it. And may 
thy unworthy messenger be ' unto God a sweet savor 
in Christ,' in this very soul, even though it should 
at last perish! 2 Cor. 2 : 15. 

" But, oh ! that after all his hardness and impeni- 
tence, thou wouldst still be pleased, by the sovereign 
power of thine efficacious grace, to awaken and con- 
vert him ! Well do we know, O thou Lord of uni- 
versal nature ! that he who made the soul can cause 
the sword of conviction to come near and enter into 
it. O that, in thine infinite wisdom and love, thou 
wouldst find out a way to interpose, and save this 
sinner from death, from eternal death ! O that, if it 
be thy blessed will, thou wouldst immediately do it ! 
Thou knowest, O God, he is a dying creature ! thou 
knowest that if any thing be done for him, it must 
be done quickly ! thou seest, in the book of thy wise 
and gracious decrees, a moment marked, which 
must seal him up in an unchangeable state ! O that 
thou wouldst lay hold on him while he is yet 'join- 



L63 vr.\. 

ed to the living, and hath ho] 

immutabl rbid 

that a iooJ should becoi. 

into the in ■ i thy ii 

Spirit work w;. as it were within the 

sphere of its operations! W 

method thou pl< 

Lord! have a a him, that he sink not into 

ination and ruin, on the very brink 
of which he so evidently appears ! Othatthcu wo 
bring him, if that be necessary, and Been to 
most expedient, intc any depths of calamity and 
tress ! O that, with Manasseh, he may be ' taken in 
the thorns, and laden with the fetters of ariliction,' 
if that may but cause him to 'seek the God of his 
fathers.' 2 Chron. 33 : 11. fe. 

"But I prescribe not t isdom. 

Thou hast displayed thy power in glorious and as- 
tonishing instances ; which I thank thee that 1 have 
so circumstantially known, and by the knowledge 
of them have been fortified against the rash c 
dence of those who weakly and arrogantly pro 
nounce that to be impossible, which is actually done. 
Thou hast, I know, done that, by a single thought 
ID retirement, when the happy man reclaimed by it 
hath been far from means, and far from ordinances, 
which neither the most awful admonitions, nor the 
most tender entreaties, nor the most terrible afflic 
lions, nor the most wonderful deliverances, had L 
able to effect 



IMPENITENT SINNER. 163 

" Glorify thy name, O Lord, and glorify thy grace, 
in the method which to thine infinite wisdom shall 
seem most expedient ! Only grant, I beseech thee, 
with all humble submission to thy will, that this sin- 
ner may be saved ! or if not, that the labor of this 
part of this treatise may not be altogether in vain ; 
but that if some reject it to their aggravated ruin, 
others may hearken and live ! That those thy ser- 
vants, who have labored for their deliverance and 
happiness, may view them in the regions of glory, 
as the spoils which thou hast honored them as the in- 
struments of recovering; and may join with them in 
the hallelujahs of heaven, ■ to him who hath loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and 
hath made us,' of condemned rebels, and accursed, 
polluted sinners, ' kings and priests unto God ; to him 
be glory and dominion for ever and ever !' Rev. 1 : 
5, 6. Amen." 



164 t;< c dkji ••it.. 



CHAPTER XII 



AN ADDHEH8 TO a | of THE 

OBBiTiranopn a it daul* rrhtur to 

CHRIST WITH ANY BOPS OK BALVA 

1 — 1. Ti>- case descril- 

— <*>. 1 ted Svul charges on U' 

7. T%i invitations and promises o) I ••• L 

', under all his burdens and fca r 
humble application to him. Which is accordingly exempli- 
fied in the concha ' un and Prayer. 

1. I have now done with those unhappy crea- 
tures who despise the Gospel, and with those who 
neglect it. With pleasure do I now turn myself to 
those who will hear rue with moi :ong 
the various cases which now present themselves to 
my thoughts, and demand my tender, affectionate, 
respectful care, there is none mere worthy of com- 
passion than that which I have i 1 in the 
title of this chapter, none which requires a more im- 

te attempt of relief. 

2. It is very possible some afflicted creature may 
be ready to cry out, " It is ei mv 
grief and my distress no more. The sentence you 
ha\' awfully describing, as what shull be 
pasted and executed on the impenitent and unbe- 



THE DEJECTED SOUL. 165 

xieving, is my sentence ; and the terrors of it are my 
terrors. ' For mine iniquities have gone up into 
the heavens,' and my transgressions have reached 
unto the clouds. Rev. IS : 5. My case is quite sin- 
gular. Surely there never was so great a sinner 
as I. I have received so many mercies, have en- 
joyed so many advantages, I have heard so many 
invitations of Gospel grace ; and yet my heart has 
been so hard, and my nature is so exceeding sinful, 
and the number and aggravating circumstances of 
my provocations have been such, that I dare not 
hope. It is enough that God hath supported me thus 
long ; it is enough, that, after so many years of wick- 
edness, I am yet out of hell. Every day's reprieve 
is a mercy at which I am astonished. I lie down, 
and wonder that death and damnation have not 
seized me in my walks the day past. I arise, and 
wonder that my bed has not been my grave ; wonder 
that my soul is not separated from my flesh, and 
surrounded with devils and damned spirits." 

3. " I have indeed heard the message of salvation ; 
but, alas ! it seems no message of salvation to me. 
There are happy souls that have hope ; and their 
hope is indeed in Christ and the grace of God mani- 
fest in him. But they feel in their hearts an en- 
couragement to apply to him, whereas I dare not do 
it. Christ and grace are things in which I fear I 
have no part, and must expect none. There are ex- 
ceeding rich and precious promises in the word of 



rin DBIBOTBD SOtTL. 

I lod I ■ ■ k, '.:. I arc 

. I kn 

• • ire some. 
Bat thru he should be willii — 

poll u q provok ' lows, 

and od to this 

day am — this I K and the 

utmost that I can do t 

knowledge that it is not absolutely impossible, 
that I do not lie down in completi 
alas ! I seem upon the borders of it, and expect e. 
day and hour to fall into it." 

4. I should not, perhaps, have entered so fully 
into this case, if I had not seen many in it ; and I 
will add, reader, for your encouragement, if it be 
your case, several, who now are in the number of 
the most established, cheerful, 
And 1 hope Hi se will add you to the 

if "out of these depths you be enabled to cry unto 
God;" (Psalm 130: 1.) and though, like Jonah, 
you may Beera to be cast out from his presence, yet 
Still, with Jonah, you " look towards his holy tem- 
ple." Jonah, 2: 4. 

;"). Let it not he imagined, that it is in any m 
of that 1.!' B8ed Spirit, whose office it is to be the 
' Comforter, that I now attempt to reason you 
out of tin- disconsolate frame; lor it i.s as the gl 
sour.-'- of reason, that he deals with fational CI 
tiirrs ; and it is in the use il means and 



THE DEJECTED SOUL. 167 

Considerations that he may most justly be expected 
to operate. Give me leave, therefore, to address 
myself calmly to you. and to ask you, what reason 
you have for all these passionate complaints and ac- 
cusations against yourself? What reason have you 
to suggest that your case is singular, when so many 
have told you they have felt the same ? What 
reason have you to conclude so hardly against your- 
self, when the Gospel speaks in such favorable 
terms % Or, what reason to imagine, that the gracious 
things it says are not intended for you ? You know, 
indeed, more of the corruption of your own heart, 
than you know of the hearts of others ; and you 
make a thousand charitable excuses for their visible 
failings and infirmities, which you make not for 
your own. And it may be, some of those whom 
you admire as eminent saints when compared with 
you, are on their part humbling themselves in the 
dust, as unworthy to be numbered among the least 
of God's people, and wishing themselves like you, 
in whom they think they see much more good, and 
much less of evil, than in themselves. 

6. But to suppose the worst, what if you were 
really the vilest sinner that ever lived upon the face 
of the earth 1 What if " your iniquities had gone up 
into the heavens" every day, and " your transgres- 
sions had reached unto the clouds," (Rev. 18:5.) 
reached thither with such horrid aggravations, that 
earth and heaven should have had reason to detest 



invi i \ i iikisT. 

you all ihis 

. repent, of so 

»od of Chris'. I wash 

then ii would be daring wiek- 

U and monstrous that 

• had you in- 
vine 
who should " limit 
the holy Ooe of Israel ' : (Psalm or 

who shall pretend to say. that it is i: that 

God may, for your very wretchedness, choose you 
out from others, to make you a monument of mercy, 
and a trophy of hitherto unparal 
apostle Paul strongly intimates this to have been the 
case with regard to himself; and why might not 
you likewise, if indeed ' the chief of sinners," ob- 
tain : as the chief, " :.ri?t 
might show forth all long-suffering, for a j 
them who shall her 1 Tim. 

7. < Iloomy as your apprehensions are. I wou 
you plainly, do you in your conscience think that 
Christ is not able to save you? Win:' is he not 
"ah even to the u" em that come 

unto God by him?" Heb. 7 

odantly able to do it ; but I dare n< I 
ill do it. And how do you know tin: 
1 le has helj ed the very f all 

that have yet applied thei him; and he 



INVITATION TO CHRIST. 169 

made thee offers of grace and salvation in the most 
engaging and encouraging terms. " If any man 
thirst, let him come unto me and drink:" (John, 7 : 
37.) "let him that is athirst come; and whosoever 
will, let him take of the water of life freely." Rev, 
22 : 17. " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11: 28. 
And once more, " Him that cometh unto me, I will 
in no wise cast out." John, 6 : 37. " True," will you 
say, " none that are given him by the Father : could 
I know I were of that number, I could then apply 
cheerfully to him." But, dear reader, let me entreat 
you to look into the text itself, and see whether that 
limitation be expressly added there. Do you there 
read, none of them whom the Father hath given me 
shall be cast out 1 The words are in a much more 
encouraging form ; and why should you frustrate 
his wisdom and goodness by such an addition of your 
own ? " Add not to his words, lest he reprove thee ;" 
'Prov. 30 : 6.) take them as they stand, and drink in 
the consolation of them. Our Lord knew into what 
perplexity some serious minds might possibly be 
thrown by what he had before been saying, "All 
that the Father hath given me shall come unto me ;" 
and therefore, as it were on purpose to balance it, he 
adds those gracious words, " him that cometh unto 
me I will in no wise," by no means, on no conside- 
ration whatsoever, " cast out." 

8. If, therefore, you are already discouraged and 

|5 H. & Progress-. 



170 INUIAII s I I IIRIST. 

ur sins, do not add to 
r ■:. . 
istrust oi .fulness and 

far as in 
you lie*, oppose all th 

11 whom 

dost u 
terrible in 

mi \ If thou carriest thy sou ukinjj 

under the burden of its guilt, to lay it down 
feet, what dost thou offer him, but the spoil which he 
bled and died to recover and possess? And did he 
purchase it so dearly, that lie might reject it with 

i ? Go to him directly, and fall down in his 
presence, and plead that misery of thine, which thou 
hast now ; ing in a contrary ■. 

• iiicnt to your own soul to make the applica- 
tion, and aa an argument with th< 
Savmr to i- i. that 

" where sin hath abounded, thei shall much 

more abound." Rom. 5 : 20. lie assured, that, 
■inner can promise himseli 
than another, it is not he that ifl least guilt 

ble, but lie that is most deeply humbled 
God under a sense of that misery and -juilt, and lies 
the lowest in the apprehent 

l 1 kuiubii axd 

■ > 

" O ; . lyest thou to these th 



APPLYING TO CHRIST FOR MERCY. 171 

Is there not at xeast a possibility of help from Christ % 
And is there a possibility of help any other way ? 
Is any other name given under heaven, whereby we 
can be saved? I know there is none. Acts, 4: 12. 
I must then say, like the lepers of Israel, (2 Kings, 
7:4,) • If I sit here, I perish ; and if I make my 
application in vain, I can but die.' But peradventure 
he may save my soul alive. I will therefore arise, 
and go unto him ; or rather, believing him here, by 
his spiritual presence, sinful and miserable as I am, 
I will this moment fall down on my face before him, 
and pour out my soul unto him. 

11 Blessed Jesus, I present myself unto thee, as a 
wretched creature, driven indeed by necessity to do 
it. For surely, were not that necessity urgent and 
absolute, I should not dare, for very shame, to appear 
m thine holy and majestic presence. I am fully con- 
vinced that my sins and my follies have been inex- 
cusably great, more than I can express, more than I 
can conceive. I feel a source of sin in my corrupt 
and degenerate nature, which pours out iniquity as 
a fountain sends out its water, and makes me a bur- 
den and a terror to myself. Such aggravations have 
attended my transgressions, that it looks like pre- 
sumption so much as to ask pardon for them. And 
yet, would it not be greater presumption to say, that 
they exceed thy mercy, and the efficacy of thy blood ; 
to say, that thou hast power and grace enough to 
pardon and save only sinners of a lower order, while 






172 AVM'LYI- 

such as I lie out of thy 

that unreasonable suspicion ! Lord, thou canst do all 
things, neith- , thought 

withholden ft iou art indeed, 

as thy word ••'• :nost. 

iking through all 
the oppositions of 

me from thee, I come and li- in the du- 

fore thee. Thou knowest, O Lord! a!. and 

all my follies. Psalm GO : 5. I cannot, and I hope 
I may say, I would not disguise them before ti 
or set myself to find out plausible excuses, 
me, Lord, as thou pleasest ; and I will ingenue 
plead guilty to all thine accusations. I will own 
myself as great a sinner as thou call* I ut I 

am still a sinner ti. :or pardon. If 

I must die, it shall be submitting, and ov 
justice of the fatal stroke. If 1 perish, it shall be 
ing hold, as it were, 00 the horns of I 
ing myself down at thy foot-stool, though 1 h 
been such a rebel against thy throne. Many I 

'.vi-il a full pardon there; have met with favor 
♦•wit beyond their hopes. And are all thy 
nana, 1 1 blessed Jesus! exhs \iul wilt thou 

in to reject an humble creature who Hies to 
thee i".»r life, and pleads nothing but mercy and I 
grao ' Have mercy upon me, most gracious I 
deemrr ' have mercy upon me, and let my lafia 



APPLYING TO CHRIST FOR MERCY. 173 

precious in thy sight ! 2 Kings, 1 : 14. O do not re- 
solve to send me down to that state of final misery 
and despair from which it was thy gracious purpose 
to deliver and save so many ! 

" Spurn me not away, O Lord ! from thy presence, 
nor be offended when I presume to lay hold on thy 
royal robe, and say that I cannot and will not let 
thee go till my suit is granted ! Gen. 32 : 26. Oh ! 
remember that my eternity is at stake ! Remember, 
O Lord, that all mj hopes of obtaining eternal hap- 
piness, and avoiding everlasting, helpless, hopeless 
destruction, are anchored upon thee ; they hang upon 
thy smiles, or drop at thy frown. O have mercy up- 
on me, for the sake of this immortal soul of mine ! 
Or if not for the sake of mine alone, for the sake of 
many others, who may, on the one hand, be en- 
couraged by thy mercy to me, or, on the other, may 
be greatly wounded and discouraged by my helpless 
despair ! I beseech thee, O Lord, for thine own sake, 
and for the display of thy Father's rich and sovereign 
grace ! I beseech thee by the blood thou didst shed 
on the cross ! I beseech thee by the covenant of grace 
and peace, into which the Father did enter with thee 
for the salvation of believing and repenting sinners ! 
save me, save me, O Lord, who earnestly desire to 
repent and believe ! I am indeed a sinner, in whose 
final and everlasting destruction thy justice might be 
greatly glorified ; but oh ! if thou wilt pardon me, it 
will be a monument raised to the honor of thy grace, 
15* 



17 1 misc son. ASSISTS*. 

and tii food, in proportion to the 

I 

Speak, 
Lord, by thy bl< - nd banish 

Look unto me with love and grace in thy counte- 
nance, and . h thou 
didst to many an humble sup;- Thy sins are 
forgiven th . peace.' " 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE DOCBTING BOLL MORE PARTICULARLY ASSISTED IS ITS IN- 
QUIRIES AS TO TBI 'KPEST- 

ANCE. 

1. TVarusicnt impressions liabl ' 

ichich icould be a fatal error. — '2. (i>:icrul scheme 

examination. — 3. Particular imp. ■' — 

have Urn of sin ? — 1. What views there have been of I 

to the need the said has of hi . — < '"4MR< 

7K5S to receive him irilh a d% of heart to his ser 

—7. Nothing short of this su; soul submit- 

nt examination the sincerity of Us faith and rt- 
yenlance. 

1. Is consequence of all the serious things which 
have been said in the former chapters, I hope it will 



DOUBTING SOUL ASSISTED. 175 

be no false presumption to imagine that some reli- 
gious impressions may be made on hearts which had 
never felt them before ; or may be revived where 
they have formerly grown cold and languid. Yet I 
am very sensible, and I desire that you may be so, 
how great danger there is of self-flattery on this im- 
portant head, and how necessary it is to caution men 
against too hasty a conclusion that they are really 
converted, because they have felt some warm emo- 
tions on their minds, and have reformed the gross ir- 
regularities of their former conduct. A mistake here 
may be infinitely fatal ; it may prove the occasion of 
that fake peace which shall lead a man to bless him- 
self in his own heart, and to conclude himself secure, 
while " all the threatenings and curses of God's law " 
are sounding in his ears, and lie indeed directly 
against him : (Deut. 19 : 19, 20.) while m the mean 
time he applies to himself a thousand promises in 
which he has no share ; which may prove therefore 
like generous wines to a man in a high fever, or 
strong opiates to one in a lethargy. "The stony 
ground hearers received the word with joy," and a 
promising harvest seemed to be springing up ; yet 
"it soon withered away," (Matt. 13 : 5, 6,) and no 
reaper filled his arms with it. Now, that this may 
not be the case with you, that all my labors and 
yours hitherto may not be lost, and that a vain dream 
of security and happiness may not plunge you deep- 
er in misery and ruin, give me leave to lead you into 



17'") SOUS I IM< rrn. 

liry into your own heart, that so 

• 
tlDgu rt being CM 

tli«' kingdom of heaven, m 
fit. 

f your 

compret 
itance, and that steady purpose of new and 
universal obedience, of which, when 

faith will assuredly be the vital principle. Therefore, 
to assist yon in judging of your state, give me leave 
to ask you, or rather to entreat you to ask yourself, 
what views you have had, and now have, of sin and 
of Christ? and what your future purposes are with 
regard to your conduct in the rei : life that 

may lie before you? 1 shall not reason lar. 
upon the several particulars I suggest under t ; 
heads, but rather refer you to your ow:. and 

observation, to judge h if ible they arc to the 

word of God, i i ule by which our charad 

must quickly be tried, and our eternal state una!' 
Btermined. 
3. Inquire seriously, in the what 

views you have had of sin, and what sentiments you 
in your soul with regard i'here 

sjaa a t; when it wore a flattering aspect, and 

made s fair, enchanting appearance, so that all your 
tnned with it, and it was the verybusi- 



DOUBTING SOUL ASSISTED. 177 

ness of your life to practice it. But you have since 
been undeceived. You have felt it " bite like a ser- 
pent, and sting like an adder." Pro v. 23 : 32. You 
have beheld it with an abhorrence far greater than 
the delight which it ever gave you. So far it is well 
It is thus with every true penitent, and with some, I 
fear, who are not of that number. Let me therefore 
inquire farther, whence arose this abhorrence ? Was 
it merely from a principle of self-love ? Was it mere- 
ly because you had been wounded by it 1 Was it 
merely because you had thereby brought condemna- 
tion and ruin upon your own soul 1 Was there no 
sense of its deformity, of its baseness, of its maligni- 
ty, as committed against the blessed God, consider- 
ed as a glorious, a bountiful, and a merciful Being ? 
Were you never pierced by the apprehension of its 
vile ingratitude? And as for those purposes which 
have arisen in your heart against it, let me beseech 
you to reflect how they have been formed, and how 
they have hitherto been executed. Have they been 
universal ? Have they been resolute ? And yet, 
amidst all that resolution, have they been humble \ 
When you have declared w T ar with sin, was it with 
every sin 1 And is it an irreconcilable war which 
you determine, by divine grace, to push on till you 
have entirely conquered it, or die in the attempt ? 
And are you accordingly active in your endeavors 
to subdue and destroy it ? If so, what are " the fruits 
worthy of repentance which you bring forth T } Luke, 



• ■ 

3: & II -.1 hope, all : in floods 

•ased to «: 
l-i. 1 !•'•, 17. Doth j 

r sins? or 
do jf 

all your r i , 

you an inward abb all sin, and an unf 

' 1 doth that produ 
ist the occasions of it, and tei 
to it ? Do you watch against th»- that 

have ensnared you? and do you particularly dou- 
ble your guard against " that sin which does most 
easily beset you ?" H e b. 12: 1. Is that laid aside, 
that the Christian race may be run : laid aside with 
firm determination that you will return to it no more, 
that you hold no more parley with it, that you will 
take snotl ward it? 

;. Permit me also farther to inquire. " what your 
What think you of him, 
and your concern with him -" 1 1 fully 

convinced that there must be a correspondence 
th'i! between him and your soul? And do 
and feel, that you are not only to pay him a kind of 
di>tant homage, and transient complim very 

■iit, and excellent person, for \\ : 
name an ! memory you have a r< but that, 

ic lives and reigns, as he is ever near ■ 

>o v"u must look to him, 
must approach him, must humbly transact husineat 



DOUBTING SOUL ASSISTED. 179 

with him, and that business of the highest import- 
ance, on which your salvation depends ? 

5. You have been brought to inquire, " Where- 
with shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself 
before the most high God? Mic. 6 : 6. And once 
perhaps you were thinking of sacrifices which your 
own stores might have been sufficient to furnish out. 
Are you now convinced they will not suffice ; and 
that you must have recourse to the Lamb which 
God has provided ? Have you 'had a view of " Jesus 
as taking away the sin of the world?" (John, 1 : 29.) 
" as made a sin-offering for us, though he knew no 
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him?" 2 Cor. 5 : 21. Have you viewed him as 
perfectly righteous in himself; and, despairing of 
being justified by any righteousness of your own, 
have you " submitted to the righteousness of God?" 
Rom. 10: 3. Has your heart ever been brought to 
a deep conviction of this important truth, that if ever 
you are saved at all, it must be through Christ; that 
if ever God extends mercy to you at all, it must be 
for his sake ; that if ever you are fixed in the temple 
of God above, you must stand there as an everlast- 
ing trophy of that victory which Christ has gained 
over the powers of hell, who would otherwise have 
triumphed over you ? 

6. Our Lord says, " Look unto me, and be ye 
saved." Isaiah, 45 : 22. He says, " If I be lifted up, 
I will draw all men unto me." John, 12 : 32. Have 



LISTED. 

i as the only Savior, have yon 

: 

1 I 

| or " w i 

r eel ?" 

; 

drink the blood of the 
Son o( man ;'' (Jo! , to look upon 

Christ crucified as the great rappt rt of your i 
and to feel a desire atter him. 

of nature after its necessary food I 1 lave you known 
what it is cordially to surrender v 
as a poor creature whom love has made his proper- 
ty"? Have you committed your immortal soul to 
him, that purify and save it : that he ; 

govern it by tl of his word and the influ- 

ences ofhia Spirit 
that he may appoint it to what « 
pline he pleases, while it dwells here in fl 
that he may receive it at death, and fix it am 
those spirits, who with perpetual songs of praise sur- 
round his throne, and are I 

Rave you heartily consented to this ? And do you, 
on this account of the matter, renew your 
Do you renew it deliberately ami determma! 
leal your whole soul, as it w< r Amen, v. I 

you read thi. .' If this he the case, then 1 can. w 
great pli it v. t re, the r: 

©f fellowship, and salute and embrace you as a l 



DOUBTING SOUL ASSISTED. 18l 

cere disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ; as one who 
is delivered from the powers of darkness, and is 
" translated into the kingdom of the Son of God." 
Col. 1:13. I can then salute you in the Lord, as 
one to whom, as a minister of Jesus, I am commis 
sioned and charged to speak comfortably, and tell you 
not that I absolve you from your sins, for it is a small 
matter to be judged of man's judgment, but that the 
blessed God himself absolveth you : that you are one 
to whom he hath said in his Gospel, and is continually 
saying, " Your sins are forgiven you ;" (Luke, 7 : 
48.) therefore go in peace, and take the comfort of it. 
7. But if you are a stranger to these experiences, 
and to this temper which I have now described, the 
great work is yet undone : you are an impenitent 
and unbelieving sinner, and "the wrath of God 
abideth on you." John, 3 : 36. However you may 
have been awakened and alarmed, whatever resolu- 
tions you may have formed for amending your life, 
how right soever your notions may be, how pure so- 
ever your forms of worship, how ardent soever your 
zeal, how severe soever your mortification, how hu- 
mane soever your temper, how inoffensive soever 
your life may be, I can speak no comfort to you. 
Vain are all your religious hopes, if there has not 
been a cordial humiliation before the presence of 
God for all your sins ; if there has not been this 
avowed war declared against every thing displeas- 
ing to God; if there has not been this sense of your 

i /• R. & Progress. 



1 82 

i without hurt, if 
thcr- pplication to fa 

thi^ of your soul into hia hands by faith, 

renunciati i might fix on 

him the anchor of j if there has not been 

this unrest il all 

times, and in a 
through him : and if ;. 
knov that you are an unprofil 

who have no other w of 

pardon but only through his and 

blood, and through the riches of divine ^race in 
him; I repeat it to you again, that all your hopes 
are vain, and yfiu are "building on the sami. 
7 : 26. The house wj| have already raised must bo 
thrown down to tlnr ground, and the foundation be 
removed and laid anew, or you, and all your hopes, 
will shortly be swept away with it, ami buried under 
it in everlasting ruin. 

The soul submitting to Divine Examination tie Sincen: 

its A 

" Lord God ! thou searchest all hearts, and triest 
the reins of the children of men I J< r. 17 10. 
Search me, O Lord, and know my heart ; try me, 
and know my thoughts; an there be any 

wicked way il-. me, and lead me in the way everlast- 
ing. Psalm 139: 23, 24. Doth not conscience, 
< ) Lot I ' '• tify in thy pi that my repent i 



REPENTANCE AND FAITH. 183 

and faith are such as have been described, or at least 
that it is my earnest prayer that they may be so? 
Come, therefore, O thou blessed Spirit ! who art the 
author of all grace and consolation, and work this 
temper more fully in my soul. O represent sin to 
mine eyes in all its most odious colors, that I may 
feel a mortal and irreconcilable hatred to it ! O re- 
present the majesty and mercy of the blessed God in 
such a manner that my heart may be alarmed, and 
that it may be melted! Smite the rock, that the 
waters may flow: (Psalm 78 : 20.) waters of ge- 
nuine, undissfcmbled, and filial repentance ! Con- 
vince me, 6 thou blessec^^irit ! of sin, of right- 
eousness, and dfjudgment ! Jtehn, Ufc: 8. Show me 
that I have undone myselfjjbifcf^at my help is 
found in God alone, (Hos. 13 r 9,) in God through 
Christ, in whom alone he will extend compassion 
and help to me ! According to thy peculiar office, 
take of Christ and show it unto me. John, 16: 15. 
Show me his power to save ! Show me his willing- 
ness to exert that power ! Teach my faith to behold 
him as extended on the cross, with open arms, with 
a pierced, bleeding side ; and so telling me, in the 
most forcible language, what room there is in his 
very heart for mak May I know what it is to have 
my whole heart subdued by love; so subdued as to 
be crucified with him ; (Rom. 6 : 6.) to be dead to 
sin and dead to the world, but alive unto God, 
through Jesus Christ. Rom. 6 : LI. In his power 



1^4 and FAITH. 

and late may I confide I To him I 

v I bear! 

I pur- 

I r : . : igh time and eterni- 

- monument o\ y of his Gospel, and a 

trophy of his victorious 

" blessed God ! if th. anting 

towards constituting me a > ristian, disco- 

v. r it to me, and work it in me ! Boat down, I be- 
seech thee, every false and presumptuous hope, how 
costly soever that building may have been which is 
thus laid in ruins, and how proud soever I may have 
been of its vain ornaaients ! Let me knoSv the worst 
of my case, brfhat knowledge evejfc so distressing; 
and if there btrreftuaping danger, O let my hean 
be fully sensible of it. Bensible while yel there is a 
remedy ! 

" If there be ani in yet lurking in n. 

which I have not sincerely renounced, discover it 
to me, and rend it out of my heart, though it may 
have shot its roots ever so deep, and have wrapped 
them all around it, so that every nerve shall he pain- 
ed by the separation! Tear it away, OL 
hand graciously severe!* And by yea, 

Lord, by Bpeedy advances, go on 1 \ . seech thee, to 
perfect what is still lacking in mr faith. 1 Th 
8 1"- \ implish in me all the good pleasure of 
thy . 2 Thess. 1:11. Enrich me, O Hea- 

ven J I 'ather, with all the graces of thy Spirit ; form 



REPENTANCE AND FAITH. 185 

me to the complete image of thy dear Son: and 
then, for his sake, come unto me, and manifest thy 
gracious presence in my soul, (John, 14 : 21, 23,) 
till it is ripened for that state of glory for which all 
these operations are intended to prepare it. Amen." 



186 Tll> r Ilk lb MAN I1.MPER. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



j. moke i art: COLA! TOW OF the several bran hes or THE 
OBmu mm, n wn ■ the reader may be farther 
assisted in JUWU W what he is, and what he sh 
heavor to be. 

1, 2. The importance of the case engages to a more particulir 
survey what jnanncr of spirit \ce arc of. — 3. Accordingly tht 
Christian temper is described, by some general viexes of it, as 
a new and divine temper. — 1. As resembling that of Christ, 
— 5. And as engaging us to be spiritually minded, and to 
walk by faith. — 6. A plan of the remainder. — ?. In which 
the Christian temper is^norc particularly considered — with 
regard to the blessed God : as including fear, affection, and 
obedience. — 8, 9. Faith and love to Christ. — 1" 
— 11-13. And a proper temper towards : B 
varticularly as a spirit of adoption and of courage . — 14. With 
rfgard to ourselves ; as including preference of the soul tc 
the body, humility, purity. — 15. Temperance. — 16. Content- 
ment. — 17. And Patience. — IS. With regard to our fellow- 
creatures ; as including Love. — 19. Meekness, — 20. Peace- 
ableness.—2\. Mercy.— 22. Truth.— 22. And candor in 
judging, — 24. General qualifications of each branch. — 25. 
Such as Sincerity.— 26. Constancy.— 27. Tenderness. — 28. 
Zeal— 29. And Prudence —30. 7 I should fre r 

quently be recollected. — A review ofauVn a scriptural prayer. 

1. When I consider the infinito importance of 
eternity, I find it exceedingly difficult to satisfy my- 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 187 

self in any thing which I can say to men, where 
their eternal interests are concerned. I have given 
you a view, I hope I may truly say, a just as well as 
a faithful view, of a truly Christian temper already. 
Yet, for your farther assistance, I would offer it to 
your consideration in various points of light, that you 
may be assisted in judging of what you are and what 
you ought to be. And in this I aim, not only at your 
conviction, if you are yet a stranger to real religion, 
but at your farther edification, if, by the grace of 
God, you are by this time experimentally acquainted 
with it. Happy you will be, happy beyond expres- 
sion, if, as you go on from one article to another, 
you can say, " This is my temper and character.' 
Happy in no inconsiderable degree, if you can say, 
" This is what I desire, what I pray for, and what I 
pursue, in preference to every opposite view, though 
it be not what I have as yet attained." 

2. Search, then, and try " what manner of spirit 
you are of." Luke, 9 : 55. And may he that search- 
eth all hearts direct the inquiry, and enable you " so 
to judge yourself, that you may not be condemned 
of the Lord." 1 Cor. 11: 31, 32. 

3. Know in the general, " that, if you are a Chris- 
tian indeed, you have been ' renewed in the spirit of 
your mind,' (Eph. 4 : 23,) so renewed as to be re- 
generated and born again." It is not enough to have 
assumed a new name, to have been brought under 
some new restraints, or to have made a partial 



188 THF. CHRISTIAN MMFLR. 

change in some particulars of your condu 
change must be great and universal. Inquire, then, 
whether you have entertained new apprehensions of 
things, have formed a ; ldgment different 

from what you formerly did: whether the ends you 
propose, the ■flectiona which you feel working in 
your heart, and the course of action to which, by 
those affections, you are directed, be, on the whole, 
new or old. Again, " If you are a Christian indeed, 
you are a ' partaker of a divine nature . 1 

4.) divine in its original, its tendency, and its resem- 
blance." Inquire, therefore, whether God hath im- 
planted a principle in your heart, which tends to 
him, and which makes you like him. Search your 
soul attentively, to see if you have really the image 
thereof God's moral perfections, ofrhis holiness and 
righteousness, his goodness and fidelity; for "the 
new man is, after God, created in righteousnesj and 
true holiness," (Eph. 4 : 24,) " and is renewed in 
knowledge after the image of him that created him." 
Col. 3:10. 

4. For your farther assistance, inquire u whether 
'the same mind be in you which was always in 
Christ.' Phil. 2 : 5. Whether you bear the image 
of God's incarnate Son, the brightest and fairest re- 
semblance of the Father which heaven or earth has 
ever beheld." The blessed Jesus designed himself to 
be a model for all his followers ; and he is certainly 
a model most fit for our imitation : an example in 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 189 

our own nature, and in circumstances adapted to ge- 
neral use : an example recommended to us at once 
by its spotless perfection, and by the endearing rela- 
tions in which he stands to us, as our Master, our 
Friend, and our Head ; as the person by whom our 
everlasting state is to be fixed, and in resemblance to 
whom our final happiness is to consist, if ever we 
are happy at all. Look then, into the life and temper 
of Christ, as described and illustrated in the Gospel, 
and search whether you can find any thing like it 
in your own. Have you any thing of his devotion, 
love, and resignation to God ? Any thing of his hu- 
mility, meekness, and benevolence to men? Any 
thing of his purity and wisdom, his contempt of the 
world, his patience, his fortitude, his zeal 1 And in- 
deed all the other branches of the Christian temper, 
which do not imply previous guilt in the person by 
whom they are exercised, may be called in to illus- 
trate and assiot your inquiries under this head. 

5. Let me add, " If you are a Christian, you are 
in the main 'spiritually-minded,' as knowing ■ that is 
life and peace;' whereas, 'to be carnally-minded is 
death.' " Rom. 8 : 6. Though you " live in the flesh, 
you will not war after it," (2 Cor. 10 : 3,) you will 
not take your orders and your commands from it. 
You will indeed attend to its necessary interests as 
matter of duty ; but it will still be with regard to an- 
other and a nobler interest, that of the rational and 
immortal spirit. Your thoughts, your affections, your 



190 THF CHRISTIAN TLMPER. 

pursuit.", your choice, will be determined by a re- 
gard to things spiritual rather than carnil. In a 
word, "you will walk by faith, and not by sight." 
Future, invisible, and in some degTee 
incomprehensible objects, will take up your mind. 
Your faith will act on the being of God, his perfec- 
tions, his provifi' • nings, 
and his promises It will act upon I whom 
having not seen," you will " love an . 1 Pet 
1:8. It will act on that unseen world, which it 
knows lo be eternal, and therefore infinitely more 
worthy of your affectionate regard than any of 
"those things which are seen and are temporal." 2 
Cor. 4: 18. 

0. These are general views of the Christian tern 
per on which I would entreat you to examine your 
self: and now I w.ould go on to lead you into a sur 
vey of the grand branches of it, as relating to God 
our neighbor, and ourselves ; and of those qualifica 
tion.'j which must attend each of these branches 
such as sincerity, constancy, tend< al and 

prudence. And I beg your diligent attention, while 
I lay before you a few hints with regard to each, by 
which vou may judge the better, both of your state 
and your duty. 

7. Examine, then, I entreat you, "the temper of 
your heart with regard to the bless< d Ciod." l\> you 
tind then* a reverential fear, and a supreme love and 
veneration tor his incomparable excelleneiea, a de- 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 191 

sire after him as the highest good, and a cordial 
gratitude towards him as your supreme benefactor? 
Can you trust his care ?• Can you credit his testi- 
mony? Do you desire to pay an unreserved obedi- 
ence to all that he commands, and an humble sub- 
mission to all the disposals of his providence? Do 
you design his glory as your noblest end, and make 
it the great business of your life to approve yourself 
to him? Is it your governing care to imitate him, 
and to "serve him in spirit and in truth?" John, 
4 : 24. 

8. Faith in Christ I have already described at 
large, and therefore shall say nothing farther, either 
of that persuasion of his power and grace, which is 
the great foundation of it, or of that acceptance of 
Christ under all his characters, or that surrender of 
the soul into his hands, in which its peculiar and 
distinguishing nature consists. 

9. If this faith in Christ be sincere, "it will un- 
doubtedly produce a love to him :" which will ex- 
press itself in affectionate thoughts of him ; in strict 
fidelity to him ; in a careful observation of his 
charge ; in a regard to his spirit, to his friends, and 
to his interests ; in a reverence to the memorials of 
his dying love which he has instituted ; and in an 
ardent desire after that heavenly world where he 
dwells, and where he will at length " have all his 
people to dwell with him." John, 17:2. 

10, I may add, agreeably to the word of God, 



192 1 HE CHRISTIAN 1 IMI'tR. 

"that thus believing in I nog him, yod 

will also rejoice in him :" in . riouj 

and in his complete fitness to accomplish it; in thr 
promises of his word, and in the privileges of his 
people. It will be matter of joy to you, that such a 
Redeemer has appeared in this world of ours; and 
your joy for yourself will be proportionable to the 
degree of clearness with which vou jur in- 

terest in him, and relation to him. 

1 1. Let me farther lead you into some reflections 
on '' the temper of your heart towards the blessed 
Spirit." If ll we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are 
none of his." Rom. 8: 19. If we are not " led by 
the Spirit of God, we are not the children of God." 
Rom. 8:14. You will then, if you are a real Chris- 
tian, desire that you may " be filled with the Spirit ;" 
(Eph. 5 : 18,) that you may have every power of 
your soul subject to his authority; that his a 
on your heart may be more constant, more operative, 
and more delightful. And to cherish these sacred 
influences, you will often have recourse to serious 
consideration and meditation : you will abstain from 
those sins which tend to grieve him ; you will im- 
prove the tender seasons, in which he seems to 
breathe upon your soul; you will strive earnestly 
with God in prayer, that you may have him '* shed 
on you still more abundantly through Jesus Christ ;" 
(Tit. 8 '• 6,) and you will be desirous to fall in with 
the end of his mission, which was to glorify Christ, 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 193 

(John, 16 : 14,) and to establish his kingdom. 
" You will desire his influences as the Spirit of 
adoption," to render your acts of worship free and 
affectionate, your obedience vigorous, your sorrow 
for sin overflowing and tender, your resignation 
meek, and your love ardent : in a word, to carry you 
through life and death with the temper of a child 
who delights in his father, and who longs for his 
more immediate presence. 

12. Once more, " if you are a Christian indeed, 
you will be desirous to obtain the spirit of courage." 
Amidst all that humility of soul to which you will 
be formed, you will wish to commence a hero jn the 
cause of Christ, opposing, with a vigorous resolution, 
the strongest efforts of the powers of darkness, the in- 
ward corruptions of your own heart, and all the out- 
ward difficulties you may meet with in the way of 
your duty, while in the cause and in the strength of 
Christ you go on " conquering and to conquer." 

13. All these things may be considered as branch- 
es of godliness ; of that godliness which is " profita- 
ble unto all things," and hath the " promise of the 
life which now is, and of that which is to come." 
1. Tim. 4: 8. 

14. Let me now farther lay before you some 
branches of the Christian temper " which relate more 
immediately to ourselves." And here, if you are a 
Christian indeed, you will undoubtedly prefer the 
soul to the body, and things eternal to those that are 

< j R. & Progress. 



194 THE (HHIMIAN TEMPER. # 

temporal Conscious of the rii^nity and value of 
your immortal nart, you will come to a firm resolu- 
tion to secure its happiness, whatever is to be re- 
signed, whatever is to be endured in that view. It 
you are ■ real Chi 1 will be also "clothed 

with humility." 1 I F©U will have a deep 

sense of your own imperfections, both and 

moral; of the short ev ;r knowledge; of 

the uncertainty and weakness of your resoluti 
and of your continual dependence upon God, and 
upon almost every thing about you. And especially 
will you be deeply sensible of your guilt ; the re- 
membrance of which will fill you with shame and 
confusion, even when you have some reason to hope 
it is forgiven. This will forbid all haughtiness and 
insolence of your behavior to your fellow-creatures. 
It will teach you, under a.ilictive providences, with 
all holy submission to bear the indignation of the 
Lord as those that know they " have sinned against 
him." Mic. 7 : 9. Again, if you are a Christian 
indeed, " you will labor after purity of soul," and 
maintain a fixed abhorrence of all prohibited sensual 
indulgence. A recollection of past impurities will 
fill you with shame and grief, and you will endeavor 
for the future to guard your thoughts and desires, 
as well as your words and actions, and to abstain, not 
only from the commission of evil, but "from the " 
distant M appearance" and probable occasions "of it " 
(1 These, 5 : 22,) as conscious of the perfect holi- 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 195 

of that God with whom you converse, and of 
the "purifying nature of that hope," (1 John, 3 : 3,) 
which by his Gospel he hath taught you to enter- 
tain. 

15. With this is nearly allied "that amiable vir- 
tue of temperance," which will teach you to guard 
against such a use of meats and drinks as indis- 
poses the body for the service of the soul ; or such 
an indulgence in either, as will rob you of that pre- 
cious jewel, your time, or occasion an expense beyond 
what your circumstances will admit, and beyond 
what will consist with what you owe to the cause 
of Christ, and those liberalities to the poor which 
your relation and theirs to God and each other will 
require. In short, you will guard against whatever 
has a tendency to increase a sensual disposition, 
against whatever would alienate the soul from com- 
munion with God, and would diminish its zeal and 
activity in his service. 

16. The divine philosophy of the blessed Jesus 
will also teach you " a contented temper." It will 
moderate your desires of those worldly enjoyments 
after which many feel such an insatiable thirst, ever 
growing with indulgence and success. You will 
guard against an immoderate cafe about those things 
which would lead you into a forgetfulness of your 
heavenly inheritance. If Providence disappoint 
your undertakings, you will submit; if others be 
more prosperous, you will not envy them, but rather 



196 TBI CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 

will be thankful for what God is pleased to bestow 
upon them, as well as for what he gives you. No 
unlawful methods will be used to alter your present 
condition; and whatever it is, you will endeavor to 
make the best of it, remembering it is whit infinite 
wisdom and goodness have appointed you, and that 
it is beyond all comparison better than you have 
deserved ; yea, that the very deficiencies and incon- 
veniences of it may conduce to the improvement of 
your future and complete happim 

17. With contentment, if you are a disciple of 
Christ, " you will join patience too," and " in pa- 
tience will possess your soul." Luke, 21 : 19. You 
cannot indeed be quite insensible either of afflictions 
or injuries; but your mind will be calm and com- 
posed under them, and steady in the prosecution of 
proper duty, though afflictions press, and though 
your hopes, your dearest hopes and prospects be de- 
layed. Patience will prevent hasty and rash conclu- 
sions, and fortify you against seeking irregular me- 
thods of relief; disposing you, in the mean time, til! 
God shall be pleased to appear for you, to go on 
steadily in the way of your duty ; "committing your- 
self to him in well-doing." 1 Pet. 4: 19. You will 
also be careful thafr " patience may have its perfect 
work," (James, 1 : 4,) and prevail in proportion to 
those circumstances which demand its peculiar ex- 
ercise. For instance, when the successions of evil 
are long and various, so that " deep calls to deep," 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 197 

and " all God's waves and billows seem to be goin^. 
over you" one after another; (Psalm 42: 7,) when 
God touches you in the most tender part ; when the 
reasons of his conduct to you are quite unaccounta- 
ble ; when your natural spirits are weak and decay- 
ed ; when unlawful methods of redress seem near and 
easy ; still your reverence for the will of your hea- 
venly Father will carry it against all, and keep you 
waiting quietly for deliverance in his own time and 
way. 

18. I have thus led you into a brief review of the 
Christian temper, with respect to God and ourselves : 
permit me now to add, " that the Gospel will teach 
you another set of very important lessons with re- 
spect to your fellow-creatures." They all are sum- 
med up in this, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself;" (Rom. 13: 9,) and "whatsoever thou 
wouldst (that is, whatsoever thou couldst, in an ex- 
change of circumstances, fairly and reasonably de- 
sire,) that others should do unto thee, do thou like- 
wise the same unto them." Matt. 7: 12. The re- 
ligion of the blessed Jesus, when it triumphs in your 
soul, will conquer the predominancy of an irregular 
self-love, and will teach you candidly and tenderly 
to look upon your neighbor as another self. As 
you are sensible of your own rights, you will be 
sensible of his : as you support your own character, 
you will support his. You will desire his welfare, 
and be ready to relieve his necessity, as you would 
17* 



198 THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 

have your own consulted by another. You will put 
the kindest construction upon his most dubious 
words and actions. You will take pleasure in his 
happiness; you will feel his distress, in some mea- 
sure, as your own And most happy will you be, 
when this obvious rui* iar to your mind, 

when this golden law is written upon your heart, 
and when it is habitually and impartially consulted 
by you upon every occasion, whether great or small. 
19. The Gospel will also teach you " to put on 
meekness," (Col. 3 : 12,) not only with respect to 
God, submitting to the authority of his word, and 
the disposal of his providence, as was urged before; 
but also with regard to your brethren of mankind. 
Its gentle inductions will form you to calmness of 
temper under injuries and provocations, so that you 
may not be angry without, or beyond just cause. It 
will engage you to guard your words, lest you pro- 
voke and exasperate those you should rather study 
by love to gain, and ty tenderness to heal. Meek- 
ness will render you slow in using any rough and 
violent methods, if they can by any means be lawful- 
ly avoided ; and ready to admit, and even to pro- 
pose a reconciliation, after they have been entered 
into, if there may yet be hope of succeeding. So 
far as this branch of the Christian temper prevails 
in your heart, you will take care to avoid every thing 
which might give unnecessary offence to others ; you 
will behave yourself in a modest manner, according 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 199 

to your station ; and it will work, both with regard to 
superiors and inferiors, teaching you duly to honor 
the one, and not to overbear or oppress, to grieve or 
insult the other. And in religion itself, it will re- 
strain all immoderate sallies and harsh censure ; and 
will command down " that wrath of man, which, in- 
stead of working, so often opposes the righteousness 
of God," (James, 1 : 20,) and shames and wounds 
that good cause, in which it is boisterously and furi- 
ously engaged. 

20. With this is naturally connected "a peaceful 
disposition." If you are a Christian indeed, you will 
have such a value and esteem for peace, as to en- 
deavor to obtain, and to preserve it, " as much as 
lieth in you," (Rom. 12 : 18,) as much as you fairly 
and honorably can. This will have such an influ- 
ence upon your conduct, as to make you not only 
cautious of giving offence, and slow in taking it, but 
earnestly desirous to regain peace as soon as may 
be, when it is in any measure broken, that the wound 
may be healed while it is green, and before it begins 
to rankle and fester. And more especially, this dis- 
position will engage you " to keep the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace," (Eph. 4 : 3,) " with all 
that in every place call on the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ," (1 Cor. 1 : 2,) whom if you truly love, 
you will also love all those whom you have reason 
to believe to be his disciples and servants. 

21. If you be yourselves indeed of that number, 



200 THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 

"you will also put on bowels of mercy. " Col. 3 : 
U. I • • s of God, and those of the blessed 

Redeemer, will work on jroui h>-art, to mould it to 
sentiments of compassion t itity, so that you 

will feel the want rrows of others : you will 

desire to relieve their md as you have 

an opportunity, you will do good, both to their bodies 
and their souls; expressing your kind affections in 
suitable actions, which may both evidence their sin- 
cerity and render them effectual. 

22. As a Christian, " you will also maintain truth 
inviolable," not only in your solemn testimonies, 
when confirmed by an oath, but likewise in common 
conversation. You will remember, too, that your 
promises bring an obligation upon you, which you 
are by no means at liberty to break through. On the 
whole, you will be careful to keep a strict corres- 
pondence between your words and your actions, in 
such a manner as becomes a servant of the God o< 
truth. 

23. Once more, as, amidst the strictest care to ob- 
serve all the divine precepts, you will still find many 
imperfections, on account of which you will be 
obliged to pray, that "God would not enter into 
strict judgment with you," as well knowing "that 
in his sight you cannot be justified," (Psalm 143 : 
2,) you will be careful not to judge others " in such 
a manner as should awaken the severity of ' his 
judgment against yourself.'" Matt. 7 : 1, 2. You 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 201 

will not, therefore, judge them impertinently, when 
you have nothing to do with their actions ; nor rash- 
ly, without inquiring into circumstances ; nor par- 
tially, without weighing them attentively and fairly; 
nor uncharitably, putting the worst construction upon 
things in their own nature dubious ; deciding upon 
intentions as evil, farther than they certainly appear 
to be so ; pronouncing on the state of men, or on the 
whole of their character, from any particular action, 
and involving the innocent with the guilty. There is 
a moderation contrary to all these extremes, which 
the Gospel recommends ; and if you receive the Gos- 
pel in good earnest into your heart, it will lay the 
ax to the root of such evils as these. 

24. Having thus briefly illustrated the principal 
branches of the Christian temper and character, I 
shall conclude the representation, with reminding 
you of " some general qualifications, which must be 
mingled w r ith all, and give a tincture to each of 
them ; such as sincerity, constancy, tenderness, zeal, 
and prudence." 

25. Always remember, that " sincerity is the very 
soul of true religion." A single intention to please 
God, and to approve ourselves to him, must animate 
and govern all that we do in it. Under the influence 
of this principle you will impartially inquire into 
every intimation of duty, and apply to the practice 
of it so far as it is known to you. Your heart will be 
engaged in ail you do. Your conduct, in private and 



202 THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 

in secret, will be agreeable to your most public be- 
havior. A sense of the Divine authority will teach 
you " to esteem all God's precepts concerning all 
things to be right, and to hate every false way." 
Psalm 119 : 128. 

26. Thus are you, •■ in simplicity and godly sin- 
cerity to have your conversation in the world." 2 
Cor. 1 : lvi. And "you are also to charge it upon 
your soul 'to be steadfast and immovable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord.'" 1 Cor. 15 : 
58. There must not only be some sudden fits and 
starts of devotion, or of something which looks like 
it, but religion must be an habitual and permanent 
thing. There must be a purpose to adhere to it at 
all times. It must be made the stated and ordinary 
business of life. Deliberate and presumptuous sins 
must be carefully avoided ; a guard must be main- 
tained against the common infirmities of life; and 
falls of one kind or of another must be matter of pro- 
portionable humiliation before God, and must occa- 
sion renewed resolution for his service. And thus 
you are to go on to the end of your life, not discou- 
raged by the length and difficulty of the way, nor al- 
lured on the one hand, or terrified on the other, by 
all the various temptations which may surround and 
It you. Your soul must be fixed on this ba- 
sis, and you are still to behave yourself as one who 
knows be Berves an unchangeable God, and who 
expects from him "a kingdom which cannot be mo- 
ved." Heb. 12 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 203 

27. Again, so far as the Gospel prevails in your 
heart, " your spirit will be tender, and the stone will 
be transformed into flesh." You will desire that 
your apprehensions of divine things may be quick, 
your affections ready to take proper impressions, your 
conscience always easily touched, and, on the whole, 
your resolutions pliant to the divine authority, and 
cordially willing to be, and to do whatever God 
shall appoint. You will have a tender regard to the 
word of God, a tender caution against sin, a tender 
guard against the snares of prosperity, a tender sub- 
mission to God's afflicting hand : in a word, you 
will be tender wherever the divine honor is concern- 
ed ; and careful, neither to do any thing yourself, nor 
to allow any thing in another, so far as you can in- 
fluence, by which God should be offended, or reli- 
gion reproached. 

28. Nay, more than all this, you will, so far as 
true Christianity governs in your mind, "exert a 
holy zeal in the service of your Redeemer and your 
Father." You will be " zealously affected in every 
good thing," (Gal. 4 : 18,) in proportion to its ap- 
prehended goodness and importance. You will be 
zealous, especially, to correct what is irregular in 
yourself, and to act to the utmost of your ability for 
the cause of God. Nor will you be able to look with 
an indifferent eye on the conduct of others in this 
view ; but, so far as charity, meekness, and prudence 
will admit, you will testify your disapprobation of 



TBI CHRISTIAN if. mi 

•hing in it which i^ rable to ( lod rind 

injurious to men. And you tvill labor, not only tc 
reclaim men from such courses, but to engage thpm 
to religion, and quicken then 

29. And once more, you will desire "to use the 
prudence which ( Jod haih givtm you,'' in ju 
what is, in present circum 

your neighbor, and yourself; what on the 

whole, the most acceptable manner of discharging it, 
and how far it may be most advantageously pursued ; 
as remembering that he is indeed the wisest and the 
happiest man, who, by constant attention of thought, 
discovers the greatest opportunities of doing good, 
and with ardent and animated resolution breaks 
through every opposition, that he may improve those 
opportunities. 

30. This is such a view of the Christian temper 
as could conveniently be thrown within such narrow 
limits ; and I hope it may assist many in the great 
and important work of self-examination. Let your 
own conscience answer, how far you have already 
attained it, and how far you desire it ; and let the 
principal topics here touched upon be fixed in your 
memory and in your heart, that you may be men- 
tioning them before God in your daily addresses 
to the throne of grace, in order to receive from him 
all necessary assistance for bringing them into 
practice. 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 205 

A Prayer, chiefly in Scripture Language, in which the several 
Branches of the Christian temper are more briefly enumerat- 
ed in the order laid doion above. 

'■ Blessed God, I humbly adore thee as the great 
Father of lights, and the Giver of every good and 
every perfect gift. James, 1:17. From thee, there- 
fore, I seek every blessing, and especially those 
which may lead me to thyself*- and prepare me for 
the eternal enjoyment of thee. I adore thee as the 
God who searches the hearts and tries the reins of the 
children of men. Jer. 17: 10. Search me, O God, and 
know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and 
see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in 
the way everlasting. Psal. 139 : 23, 24. May I know 
what manner of spirit I am of, (Luke, 9 : 55,) and 
be preserved from mistaking, where the error might 
be infinitely fatal ! 

" May I, O Lord, be renewed in the spirit of my 
mind. Eph. 4 : 24. A new heart do thou give me, 
and a new spirit do thou put within me. Ezek. 34 ■ 
26. Make me partaker of divine nature ; (2 Pet. 1 : 
4,) and as he who hath called me is holy, may I be 
holy in all manner of conversation. 1 Pet. 1 : 15. 
May the same mind be in me which was also in 
Christ Jesus ; (Phil. 2 : 5,) may I so walk even as 
he walked. 1 John, 2 : 6. Deliver me from being 
carnally-minded, which is death ; and make me spi- 
ritually-minded, since that is life and peace. Rom. 
8 : 6. And may I, while I pass through this world of 

18 R- & Progress. 



1 HI l HEIST! 

a, walk by faith and i 
bo rtrong in faith, Rom. 4 

•' May tii-.- L 

unto all men, and B glori- 

ous evidence and 1 dually teach me to i 

ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
righteously, and godly. Tit 2: 11, 12 Work in 
my heart that godliness whi to all 

things ; (1 Tim. 4 : 8,) and teach me by the inlli:- 
of thy blessed Spirit, to love thee, the Lord my God, 
with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all 
my mind, and with all my strength. Mark, 12: 
May I yield myself unto thee, as alive from the dead, 
(Rom. 6 : 13,) and present my body a living sacri- 
fice, holy and acceptable in thy sight, which is mv 
most reasonable service! Rom. 12: 1. May I enter- 
tain the most faithful and affectionate regard to the 
blessed Jesus, thine incarnate Son, the brightness of 
thy glory, and the express image of thy person. 
Heb. 1 : 3. Though I have not seen him, may I 
love him; and in him, though now I see him not, 
yet believing, may I rejoice with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory, (1 Pet. 1: 8.) and may the life 
which I live in the flesh be daily by the faith of the 
Son of God. Gal. 2 : 20. May 1 be rilled with the 
Spirit, (Eph. 5 : IS,) and may I be led by it; (Rom. 
8: 14,) and so may it he evident to others, and 
pecially to my own soul, that I am a child of God, 
and an heir of glory. May I not receive the spirit 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 207 

of bondage unto fear, but the spirit of adoption, 
whereby I may be enabled to cry, Abba, Father. 
Rom. 8:15. May he work in me, as the spirit of 
love, and of power, and of a sound mind, (2 Tim. I : 
17,) that so I may add to my faith virtue. 2 Pet. 1 : 
5. May I be strong, and very courageous, (Josh. 1 : 
7,) and quit myself like a man, (1 Cor. 14 : 13,) and 
like a Christian, in the work to which I am called, 
and in that warfare which I had in view when I 
listed under the banner of the great Captain of my 
salvation. 

" Teach me, O Lord, seriously to consider the na- 
ture of my own soul, and to set a suitable value upon 
it. May I labor, not only or chiefly, for the meat 
that perisheth, but for that which endureth to eternal 
life. John, 6: 27. May I humble myself under thy 
mighty hand, and be clothed with humility, (1 Pet. 
5 : 5, 6,) decked with the ornament of a meek and 
quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great 
price. 1 Pet. 3 : 4. May I be pure in heart, that I 
may see God, (Matt. 5 : 8,) mortifying my members 
which are on the earth, (Col. 3 : 5.) so that if a right 
eye orTend me, I may pluck it out, and if a right 
hand offend me, I may cut it oft'. Matt. 5 : 29, 30. 
May I be temperate in all things, (1 Cor. 9 : 25.) 
content with such things as I have, (Heb. 13 : 5,) 
and instructed to be so in whatever state I am. Phil. 
4:11. May patience also have its perfect work in 
me, that I may be in that respect complete, and want- 
ing nothing. Jaraes, 1 : 4. 



208 THE CHRISTIAN riMPF.R. 

" Form me, O Lord, I beseech thee, to a proper 
temper toward my fellow-creatur-s ' May 1 low 
neighbor as myself, (Gal 5 11. and whatsoever I 
would that others should do unto me, may I also do 
the same unto them. A May I put on 

meekness under ti. and provoca- 

tions, (Col. 3: 12,) and, it' it be possible, as much as 
lieth in me, may 1 1; bly with all men. 

Rom. 12 : IS. May 1 be merciful, as my Father in 
heaven is merciful. Luke, 6: 30. May I spea'.. 
truth from my heart; (Psalm 15: -J.) and mav I 
speak it in love, (Eph. 4: 15,) guarding against 
every instance of a censorious and malignant dispo- 
sition ; and taking care not to' judge severely, as I 
would not be judged with the severity which thou, 
Lord, knowest, and which mine own conscience 
knows, I should not be able to support. 

M I entreat thee, O Lord, to work in me all those 
qualifications of the Christian temper which mav 
render it peculiarly acceptable to thee, and may 
prove ornamental to my profession in the world. 
Renew, I beseech thee, a right spirit within me, 
(Psalm 51 : 10,) make me an Israelite indeed, in 
whom there is no allowed guile. John. I 47, And 
while I feast on Christ, as my paasover sacrificed 
for me, may 1 keep the feast witii the unleavened 
bread of sincerity and truth. I ('or. 5 : 7, S. .M 
me, 1 beseech thee, O thou Almighty and unchange- 
able God ! steadfast and immovable, always abound 



THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER. 209 

ing in thy work, as knowing that my labor in the 
Lord shall not be finally in vain. 1 Cor. 15 : 58. 
May my heart be tender, (2 Kings, 17 : 19,) easily 
impressed with thy word and providence, touched 
with an affectionate concern for thy glory, and sen- 
sible of every impulse of thy Spirit. May I be zeal- 
ous for my God, (Numb. 25 : 13,) with a zeal ac- 
cording to knowledge and charity, (1 Cor. 14 : 14,) 
and teach me in thy service to join the wisdom of 
the serpent with the boldness of the lion and the in- 
nocence of the dove. Matt. 10 : 16. Thus render 
me, by thy grace, a shining image of my dear Re- 
deemer ; and at length bring me to wear the bright 
resemblance of his holiness and his glory, in that 
world where he dwells ; that I may ascribe everlast- 
ing honors to him, and to thee, O thou Father of 
mercies, whose invaluable gift he is, and to thine 
Holy Spirit, through whose gracious influence, I 
would humbly hope, I may call thee my Father, and 
Jesus my Savior ! Amen." 



2 10 CHRISTIAN' TKMPilR SOIOHT. 



CHAPTER XV. 



rtlK RK1DER RIMINDID HOW ¥EEM THE ASSISTANCE 

Or THE SPIRIT OP OOD TO FOkM HIM T'J THE TEMPER DE*CUI»- 
ED ABOVE, AND WHAT EWCOCRaGEMENT HE HAS TO EXPECT IT. 

1. Forxcard resolutions may prove ineffectual. — '2. Yet religion 
ts not tobe given up in despair, but Divine grace to be sought. 
— 3. .1 general view of Us reality and necessity , from reason. 
— 4. And Scripture.— 5. The spirit tobe sought as the spirit 
of Christ. — 0. And in thai view the great strength of the 
soul.—l. The encouragement there is to hope for the commu- 
nication of it. — 8. A concluding exhortation to pray for it. 
And an humble address to God pursuant to that exhortation. 

I have now laid before you a plan of that temper 
and character which the Gospel requires, and which, 
if you are a true Christian, you will desire and pur- 
sue. Surely there is, in the very description of it, 
something which must powerfully strike every mind 
which has any taste for what is truly beautiful and 
excellent. And I question not, but you, my dear 
reader, will feel some impression of it upon your 
heart. You will immediately form some lively pur- 
pose of endeavoring after it ; and perhaps you may 
imagine, you shall certainly and quickly attain to it. 
You see how reasonable it is, and what desirable 
consequences necessarily attend it, and the aspect 



CHRISTIAN TEMPER SOUGHT. 211 

which it bears on your present enjoyment and your 
future happiness ; and therefore are determined you 
will act accordingly. But give me leave seriously 
to remind you how many there have been, (would 
to God that several such instances had not happened 
within the compass of my own personal observa- 
tion !) whose goodness hath been " like a morning 
cloud and the early dew," which soon "passeih 
away." Hos. 6 : 4. There is not room indeed ab- 
solutely to apply the words of Joshua, taken in the 
most rigorous sense, when he said to Israel, that he 
might humble their too hasty and sanguine resolu- 
tions, " You cannot serve the Lord." Josh. 24 : 12. 
But I will venture to say, you cannot easily do it. 
Alas ! you know not the difficulties you have to 
break through; you know not the temptations which 
Satan will throw in your way ; you know not how 
importunate your vain and sinful companions will 
be, to draw you back into the snare you may attempt 
to break ; and, above all, you know not the subtle 
artifices which your own corruptions will practice 
upon you in order to recover their dominion, over 
you. You think the views you now have of things 
will be lasting, because the principles and objects to 
which they refer are so : but perhaps to-morrow may 
undeceive you, or rather deceive you anew : to-mor- 
row may present some trifle in a new dress, which 
shall amuse you into a forgetfulness of all this. Nay, 
perhaps before you lie down on your bed, the im- 



212 CHRISTIAN TEMPFR SOUGHT. 

pressions you now feel may wear oft The corrupt 
desires of your own heart, now perhaps a little 
charmed down, and lying as if th«>y were dead, may 
spring up again with new violence, as if they had 
slept only to recruit th«*i r rigor; an I if you are not 
supported \>\ . "h than your own, this 

struggle for liberty will only make your future 
chains the heavier, the more shameful, and the more 
fatal. 

2. What then is to be done? Is the convinced 
sinner to lie down in despair ? to say. " I am a help- 
less captive, and by exerting myself with violence, 
may break my limbs sooner than my bonds, and in- 
crease the evil I would remove ?" God forbid ! You 
cannot, I am persuaded, be so little acquainted with 
Christianity, as not to know "that the doctrine of 
divine assistance bears a very considerable part in 
it." You have often, I doubt not, read of " the law 
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as making us 
free from the law of sin and death," (Rom. 8:2,) 
and have been told, "that through the Spirit we 
mortify the deeds of the body." Rom. 8:13. You 
have read of" doing all things through Christ, who 
strengthened us," (Phil. 4 : 15.) whose grace "is 
sufficient for us," and whose " strength is made per- 
fect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12 9. Permit me, th 
fore, now to call your attention to this, as a truth of 
the clearest evidence, and of the utmost importan 

3. Reason, indeed, as well as the whole tenor of 



CHRISTIAN TEMPER SOUGHT. 213 

Scripture, agrees with this.* The whole created 
world has a necessary dependence on God : from 
him even the knowledge of " natural things " is 
derived, (Psalm 94 : 10,) and " skill in them is to be 
ascribed to him." Exod. 31 : 3-6. Much more loud- 
ly does so great and excellent a work, as the new- 
forming the human mind, bespeak its divine Au- 
thor. When you consider how various the branch- 
es of the Christian temper are, and how contrary 
many of them also are to that temper, w T hich hath 
prevailed in your heart, and governed your life in 
time past, you must really see divine influences as 
necessary to produce and nourish them, as the influ- 
ences of the sun and rain are to call up the variety 
of plants and flowers, and grains and fruits, by which 
the earth is adorned, and our life supported. You 
will be yet more sensible of this, if you reflect on the 
violent opposition which this happy work must ex- 
pect to meet with ; of which I shall presently warn 
you more largely, and which if you have not already 
experienced, it must be because you have but very 
lately begun to think of religion. 

4. Accordingly, if you give yourself leave to con- 
sult Scripture on this head, (and if you would live 
like a Christian, you must be consulting it every 
day, and forming your notions and actions by it,) you 

* See many of these thoughts much more iargely illustra- 
ted in my eighth Sei'mon on Regeneration. 



2il c ii :it. 

will 

upon Go now recoramend- 

I >u will par that the production 

ii in the soul ia matter of divine promise; 
that when it I- ad, Scripture ascribes it 

to a divine ago . i that the increase of grace 

and piety in the heart of those who in j'-ne- 

is also spoken of as the work of God, who be- 
gins and "carries it on until thedav of Jesus Christ ' 
Phil. 1 : G. 

5. Inconsequence of all these views, lay it dow.i 
to yourself as a most certain principle, that no attempt 
in religion is to be made in your own strength. I: 
you forget this, and God purposes finally to l 
you, he will humble you by repeati Joint- 

's, till he v . Yuu will be 

of one scheme and effort, and of another, till you 
tie upon the true basis, lie will also probably show 
you, not only in the genera], that your strength is to 
be derived from heaven, but particularly that 
the office of the blessed Spirit to purify the heart, 
and to invigorate holy resolutions : am! also that, in 
all these operations, he is I red as the 

Spirit of Christ, working under h 

mmunication from him under the character 
the great I lead of the Church, the grand Ti 

these holy and beneficial in- 
< 'u which account it is called "the supply 
oft' i (Phil. 1 : 19,) wL 



CHRISTIAN TEMPER SOUGHT. 215 

" exalted at the right hand " of the Father, " to give 
repentance and remission of sins," (Acts, 5:31,) 
"in whose grace alone we can be strong," (2 Tim. 
2 : 1.) and " of whose fullness we receive even grace 
for grace." John, 1 : 16. 

6. Resolve, therefore, strenuously for the service 
of God, and for the care of your soul : but " resolve 
modestly and humbly." Even "the youths shall 
faint and be weary, and the young men utterly fall ; 
but they who wait on the Lord" are the persons who 
"renew their strength." Isai. 40: 30, 31. When 
a soul is almost afraid to declare, in the presence of 
the Lord, that it will not do this or that, which has 
formerly offended him ; when it is afraid absolutely 
to promise that it will perform this or that duty with 
vigor and constancy, but only expresses its humble 
and earnest desire that it may by grace be enabled 
to avoid the one or pursue the other ; then, so far as 
my observation and experience have reached, it is in 
the best way to learn the happy art of conquering 
temptation, and of discharging duty. 

7. On the other hand, let not your dependence 
upon this Spirit, and your sense of your own weak- 
ness and insufficiency for any thing spiritually good, 
without his continual aid, discourage you from de- 
voting yourself to God, and engaging in a religious 
life, considering " what abundant reason you have 
to hope that these gracious influences will be com- 
municated to vou." The light of nature, at the same 



< if : I H r. 

time o! help from 

God in a virtuous cour^ us to cone 

that so benevolent I '.ho bestows on the most 

unworthy and car- I of mankind so many 

blessings, will .uliar pleasure in commu- 

nicating to such as humbly ask them, those gracious 
assistances which r deathless souls 

into his own resemblan hap- 

piness to which their rational nature is suited, and 
for which it was in its first constitution intended. 
The word of God will much more abundantly con- 
firm such a hope. You there hear divine wisdom 
crying even to those who had long trilled with her 
instructions, " Turn ye at my reproof, and I will pour 
out my Spirit upon you." Prov 1 : 23. You hear 
the apostle saying, " Let us come boldly to the throne 
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace 
to help in every time of need." Heb. 4 : 16. 1 
and you there hear our Lord himself arguing in this 
sweet and convincing manner "If ye, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your heavenly Father [ 
his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him ? ' Luke, 1 1 I 
13. This gift and promise of the Spirit was given 
unto Christ when he ascended up on high, in trust 
for all his true disciples. God hath " shed it abroad 
abundantly upon us in him." Tit. 3: 6. And I may 
add, that the wry desire you feel after the farther 
communication of the Spirit, is the result cf the first 



CHRISTIAN TEMPER SOUGHT. *17 

fruits of it already given ; so that you may, with pe- 
culiar propriety, interpret it as a special call "to 
open your mouth wide, that he may fill it." Psalm 
81: 10. You thirst, and therefore you may cheer- 
fully plead, that Jesus has " invited you to come unto 
him and drink ;" with a promise not only that you 
shall drink if you come unto him, but also that " out 
of your belly shall flow," as it were, " rivers of living 
water," for the edification and refreshment of others. 
John, 7 : 37, 38. 

8. Go forth, therefore, with humble cheerfulness, 
to the prosecution of all the duties of the Christian 
life. Go and prosper " in the strength of the Lord, 
making mention of his righteousness, and of his 
only." Psalm 71: 16. And as a token of farther 
communication, may your heart be quickened to the 
most earnest desire after the blessings I have been 
now recommending to your pursuit !" May you be 
stirred up to pour out your soul before God in such 
holy breathings as these ! and may they be your 
daily language in his gracious presence ! 

An humble Supplication for the Influences of Divine Grace, ts 
form and strengthen Religion in the Soul. 

" Blessed God ! I sincerely acknowledge before 
thee my own weakness and insufficiency for any 
thing that is spiritually good. I have experienced 
it a thousand times ; and yet my foolish heart would 
again 'trust itself, 3 (Prov. 28: 26,) and form resolu* 

j£ R. & Progress 



lions in its o 

fruits of ' : pon it, to bri: 

to an humble i to a repose on 

thee ! 

" Abundantly I Lord, in the kind 

assurances whi'-h Bit to 

so great a ben- 
therefore, according to thy condescend., 'ion, 

come with b< throne of gra 

may find grace to help in ev Heb. 

4 : 16, I mean not, O I/Drd God, to turn thy grace 
into wantonness or per ) or 

to make my weakness an excuse for negligence and 
sloth. I confess that thou hast . me 

more strength than I ! an 1 1 

upon myself, and not on thee, thai 1 
since received still more abundant supplii - 1 
sire for the future to be found diligent in the 01 
nll appointed means ; in the neglect of whic 
know that petitions like these would be a pro! 
mockery, and might much more pro 
thee to take away what 1 have, than prevail i; 
thee to impart more. But firmly xert 

myself to the utmost, I earn- unu- 

ition oi thy grace, that I i labled to fulfill 

that resolution. 

" B ! irety, Lord! unto thy servant for 

DQ 1 19 122. !)•• | efl ! road thy 

sanctifying influenc >s on my bo tl, to 



CHRISTIAN TEMPER SOUGHT. 219 

every duty thou requirest. Implant, I beseech thee, 
every grace and virtue deep in my heart, and main 
tain the happy temper in the midst of those assaults 
from within and from without, to which I am con- 
tinually liable while I am still in this world and car- 
ry about with me so many infirmities. Fill my 
breast, I beseech thee, with good affections towards 
thee, my God, and towards my fellow-creatures. Re- 
mind me always of thy presence, and may I remem- 
ber that every secret sentiment of my soul is open 
to thee. May I therefore guard against the first ris- 
ings of sin, and the first approaches to it ; and that 
Satan may not find room for his evil suggestions, I 
earnestly beg that thou, Lord, wouldst fill my heart 
with thine Holy Spirit, and take up thy residence 
there. Dwell in me, and walk with me, (2 Cor 6 : 
16,) and let my body be the temple of the Holy 
Ghost. 1 Cor. 6 : 19. 

" May I be so joined to Christ Jesus my Lord, as 
to be one spirit with him, (1 Cor. 6: 17,) and feel 
his invigorating influences continually bearing me 
on, superior to every temptation, and to every cor- 
ruption ; that while the youths shall faint and be 
weary, and the young men utterly fall, I may so 
wait upon the Lord as to renew my strength, (Isai. 
40 : 30, 31,) and may go on from one degree of faith, 
and love, and zeal, and holiness, to another, till I 
appear perfect before thee in Zion, (Psalm, 84 : 7.) 
to drink in immortal vigor and joy from thee, as the 



SPIRITUAL DISCOURAGEMENTS 

L in whom I ind strength, 

! 15 : 2 1.) and to wl I I •. r to ascribe 

the praise of all my i in both. Amen.' 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE CnniSTHN CONVERT WARNEH Of, AND AN'MATED AOaIMT 
TH08E DISCOURAGEMENTS WHiCH HE MOST EXPECT TO MUTT 
WHEN ENTERING ON A RELIGI0C8 L OLKSE. 

I. (~\risl has instructed his iliscipUs to expect opposition and 
difficulties in the way to heart :i. — 2. . more par. 

> , us arising 
§f indwelling sin. — :: /' from 

former sinful companions. — \. tVom tie temptations an>. 
gestiens of Sab .— 'id en- 

coHrazcil,by furious considerations, to oppose them; parti- 
cularly by the presenn: of (, .• the exam- 
of othirs, irho, though fotbU . ;uered ; and the 
crown of glory to bee. .—' staey 
be infinitely fatal, the i nay press c . Ac 
tordinglytAe soul, alarmed by thesr ptno*, is represented as 
committing itself to Cfod\ in tke pruyer irkieh concludes the 
chaptT. 

1. With tin- utmost propriety lias our Pivinr 
Master required ua "to strife to enter in at the straw 



6PIRITUAL DISCOURAGEMENTS. 221 

gate," (Luke, 13: 23,) thereby intimating, not only 
that the passage is narrow, but that it is beset with 
enemies ; beset on the right hand and on the left 
with enemies cunning and formidable. And be as- 
sured, O reader ! that whatever your circumstances 
in life are, you must meet and encounter them. It 
will therefore be your prudence to survey them at- 
tentively in your own reflections, that you may see 
what you are to expect ; and may consider in what 
armor it is necessary you shall be clothed, and with 
what weapons you must be famished to manage the 
combat. You have often heard them marshalled, as 
it were, under three great leaders, the flesh, the 
world, and the devil ; and, according to this distri- 
bution, I would call you to consider the forces of 
each, as setting themselves in array against you. O 
that you may be excited "to take to yourself the 
whole armor of God," (Eph. 6 : 13,) and to " acquit 
yourself like a man," and a Christian ! 1 Cor. 16 : 13 
2. Let your conscience answer, whether do you 
not carry about with you a corrupt and degenerate 
nature 1 You will, 1 doubt not, feel its effects. You 
will feel, in the language of the apostle, who speaks 
of it as the case of Christians themselves, " the flesh 
lusting against the spirit, so that you will not be 
able," in all instances, "to do the things that you 
would." Gal. 5 : 17. You brought irregular pro- 
pensities into the world along with you; and you 
have so often indulged those sinful inclinations, thai 
19* 



222 spiriti al ilfCOtrtAOIMEMTI 

you I t-.ly increa 

will find, in conseq 

DOC be broken throu tlty. You 

will, no doubt, often r< , ... 

whuh the pr . and 

■ it is just . thai 

tin, and the leopard 

his spot Jr.i. 23 D possible, that, 

at first, you may find - 

upon your spirit*, as may l< 
all opposition will immediately tall before you. 1 
alas ! 1 fear that in a little time these enemies, which 
seemed to be slain at your feet, will revive, and re- 
cover their weapons, and renew the assault in one 
form or another. Ami perhaps your most painful 
combats may be with BUch BJ 

may arise from some of thl hom 

you apprehended the least, particularly i: 

and from indolence of spirit; from a secret a . 
tion of heart from < rod, and from an indisposition 
for conversing with him, through an immo 
tachment to " things seen and temporal, " which may 
be oftentimes exceedingly dangerous to youi salva- 
tion, though perhaps they be itely and uni- 
In a tho 

. must learn to deny yom 
Chrii I e." Matt 16 24. 

3. Vou must alio lay your account to find great 



SPIRITUAL DISCOURAGEMENTS. 223 

difficulties from the world, from its manners, cus- 
toms, and examples. The things of the world will 
hinder you one way, and the men of the world ano- 
ther. Perhaps you may meet with much less assist- 
ance in religion than you are now ready to expect 
from good men. The present generation of them is 
generally so cautious to avoid every thing that looks 
like ostentation, and there seems something so in- 
supportably dreadful in the charge of enthusiasm, 
that you will find most of your Christian brethren 
studying to conceal their virtue and their piety, much 
more than others study to conceal their vices and 
their profaneness. But while, unless your situation 
be singularly happy, you meet with very little aid 
one way, you will, no doubt, find great opposition 
another. The enemies of religion will be bold and 
active in their assaults, while many of its friends 
seem unconcerned ; and one sinner will probably ex- 
ert himself more to corrupt you, than ten Christians 
to secure and save you. They who have been once 
your companions in sin, will try a thousand artful 
methods to allure you back again to their forsaken 
society: some of them perhaps with an appearance 
of tender fondness, and many more by the almost 
irresistible art of ridicule : that boasted test of right 
and wrong, as it has been wantonly called, will be 
tried upon you, perhaps without any regard to de- 
cency, or even to common humanity. You will be 
derided and insulted by those whose esteem and a£ 



• 

ion 
of th kings, 11 (I i 

which son than either m 

01 fl . :nust 

ns a lunatic, for DO othi now 

a to purpose, and will 
with t ho- <j\\n 

souls in their wild career of folly nest. 

L And it is not at all irn; . that in the 

meantime Satan may be doing his utmost to 
courage and distress you. He will, no doubt, r 
in your imagination the most temptii. the 

tifications, the indulg .1 the companions 

you you the most 

the difficu 
rides, and dangers, which si 
suade you, inseparable from religion. He prill 
fail to represent <i"d himself, the fountain of good- 
ness and happiness, as a hard [\ bom it is 
impossible to please. He will perhaps fill you with 
•nost distressful fears, and, with cruel ami inso- 
-iv over you as hia slave, when 
i arc the Lord's fr< \: one time he 
will Study, by his vile B! interrupt you 
in Y<>nr d Lties, as if ti.' Mia an additional 

At mother time he will i 
io v. • lion, by influencing you 



SPIRITUAL DISCOURAGEMENTS. 225 

to prolong it to an immoderate and tedious length, 
lest his power should be exerted upon you when it 
ceases. In short, this practiced deceiver has artifices 
which it would require whole volumes to displajr, 
w ; th particular cautions against each. And he will 
follow you with malicious arts and pursuits to the 
very end of your pilgrimage, and will leave no me- 
thod unattempted which may be likely to weaken 
your hands and to sadden your heart, that if, through 
the gracious interposition of God, he cannot prevent 
your final happiness, he may at least impair your 
peace and your usefulness as you are passing to it. 
5. This is what the people of God feel, and what 
you will feel in some degree or other, if you have 
your lot and portion among them. But, after all, 
be not discouraged : Christ is the " Captain of your 
salvation." Heb. 2:10. It is delightful to consider 
him under this view. When we take a survey of 
these host of enemies, we may lift up our head 
amidst them all, and say, " More and greater is he 
that is with us, than all those that are against us." 
2 Kings, 6 : 16. " Trust in the Lord, and you will 
be like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but 
abideth for ever." Psalm 125 : 1. When your ene- 
mies press upon you, remember you are to "fight in 
the presence of God." Zech. 10 : 5. Endeavor, 
therefore, to act a gallant and a resolute part; en- 
deavor to " resist them steadfast in the faith." 1 Pet. 
5 : 9. Remember, " He can give power to the faint, 



• Pir; : : r.M m COVI LOBMBVfl 

nnd in 

one jt in ten thousand >n- 

D thousand 

more. Hon ■ i I their 

armor, 

I 

as it were M with -d a sling, in the name of 

the Lord God of 1 li •• 

:. have trodden down the 

• 

I I- I 1 1 : 34. 
\ midst all the opposition of earth and hell, 
look upward and look forward, and you will feel 
your heart animated by the view. Your General is 
r to aid you, : 
When you fee] the I ham* 

ett, think of him who H itself 

for youi rescue. View the fortitude of your ! 
L . i oh on in his 

Hearken to his ms it aloud, 

B . :. 1 tickly, and ray reward is with 

] iiul unto death, 

and I will give thee a crown of li: ; 

h ! how bright will it shine! and how long 
lustre last ' When the it adorn the 

i hs, and | 
>yal head to an seceding 

d in the last li.mie. ■•. 
rhich fadeth n 



SPIRITUAL ADVERSARIES. 227 

7 It is indeed true, " that such as turn aside to 
crooked paths" will be "led forth with the workers 
of iniquity," to that terrible execution which divine 
justice is preparing for them, (Psalm 125 : 5,) and 
it would have been "better for them not to have 
known the way of righteousness, than, after having 
known it, to turn aside from the holy command- 
ment." 2 Pet. 2 : 21. But I would, by divine grace, 
"hope better things of you." Heb. 6 : 9. And I 
make it my hearty prayer for you, my reader, that 
you may be " kept by the mighty power of God," 
kept, as in a garrison on all sides fortified in the se- 
curest manner, " through faith, unto salvation." 



The Soul, alarmea by a sense of these difficulties, committing 
itself to Divine Protection. 

" Blessed God ! it is to thine Almighty power that 
I flee. Behold me surrounded with difficulties and 
dangers, and stretch out thine omnipotent arm to 
save me, 4 thou that savest by thy right hand them 
that put their trust in thee, from those that rise up 
against them.' Psalm 17 : 7. This day do I solemn- 
ly put myself under thy protection : exert thy power 
in my favor, and permit me ' to make the shadow of 
thy wings my refuge.' Psalm 57 : 1. Let ' thy grace 
be sufficient for me,' and ' thy strength be made per- 
fect in my weakness.' 2 Cor. 12:9. I dare not say, 
; I will never forsake thee, I will never deny thee ;' 



■flRITTAL ADTItfARIMi 

(Mark. I J 31.) bat I hope I can O Lord, 

I . uld not ti • ap- 

prehension a;, ir to me 

ind deliberate 

to offend I 'corruptions 

from in an hour of j : rnp- 

in a different 
it, and so m » the hands of the 

i my (kith, < > I^ord, and en 
rage my hope ' Inspire me with heroic resolution in 
opposing every thing that li< -.en; 

and let me 'set my face like a flint' against all the 
assaults of earth and hell! Isaiah, 50 7. ' If sin- 
ners entice me, let me not consent;' (Prov. 1 : 10,) 
if they insult me, let me not regard it ; if I 

' R tther m ly a holy 
and ardent, yet prudent and well-governed i 
occasion from that malignity of heart which I 
discover, to attempt their conviction and reforma- 
tion' .v least, let me n< bamed to plead 

tmst the most profane deride? 
• M ike me to hear joy ' in my i 

1 will endeavor to ' teach trans 

8, 1 1 iord, while mv ugh 

I should apprehend m\ i I am 

own folly, that I 

thine adi t mysel£ 



SPIRITUAL ADVERSARIES. 229 

let me think, whatever age or station I attain, that I 
am strong enough to maintain the combat without 
thee ! Nor let me imagine myself, even in this in- 
fancy of religion in my soul, so weak that thou canst 
not support me! Wherever thou leadest me, there 
let me follow ; and whatever station thou appointest 
me, there let me labor : there let me maintain the 
holy war against all the enemies of my salvation, 
and rather fall in it, than basely abandon it. 

"And thou, glorious Redeemer, 'the Captain 
of my salvation,' the great « Author and Finisher of 
my faith,' (Heb. 12 : 2,) when I am in danger of 
denying thee, as Peter did, look upon me with that 
mixture of majesty and tenderness, (Luke, 22: 61,) 
which may either secure me from falling, or may 
speedily recover me to God and my duty again ! 
and teach me to take occasion, even from my mis- 
carriages, to humble myself more deeply for all that 
has been amies, and to redouble my future diligence 
and caution ! Amen." 

£0 r. & Progress. 



230 •ELr-DtDICATION UEOKO- 



CHAPTER XVII. 



AmatTXD is, as cimm act 
or »t • tub tomes or OOD. 

I I a surrender are briefly suggested.— 

2, 3, 4. Ad dinner of doing it ; that ii be del'Jt- 

rate, < al. — 5. And that it be expressed 

with sorne affect r ■■. —6 A dUn instrument to 

be signed and declared before God, at some season of extra- 
ordinary devotion, pr,- 'J', chapter concludes with a 

specimen of M abstract of 

it, to be used with proper and requisite alterations, 

1. Al I would hope, thai, notwithstanding all the 
ion which do or m 
consideration oi .rid motives 

which have been mentioned in thi eding 

chapters, you are heartily determined tor I 

. I would now urge you to make a solemn sur- 
■If unto it. Do not only I 
purpose in your heart, but expressly declare u in the 

. Such solemnity in the man 
doing it is certainly very i itore of 

I surely it is ni( I aiding 

L • bei 

our own to be. It will be pleasant to reflect upon it, 



SELF-DEDICATION URGED. 231 

as done at such and such a time, with such and such 
circumstances of place and method, which may serve 
to strike the memory and the conscience. The sense 
of the vows of God which are upon you, will 
strengthen you in an hour of temptation; and the 
recollection may also encourage your humble bold- 
ness and freedom in applying to him, under the cha- 
racter and relation of your Covenant God and Father, 
as future exigencies may require. 

2. Do it therefore ; but do it deliberately. Consi- 
der what it is that you are to do, and consider how 
reasonable it is that it should be done, and done cor- 
dially and cheerfully ; " not by constraint, but wil- 
lingly," (1 Peter, 5 : 2,) for in this sense, and in 
every other, " God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Cor. 
9 : 7. Now surely there is nothing we should do 
with greater cheerfulness or more cordial consent, 
than making such a surrender of ourselves to the 
Lord, to the God who created us, who brought us 
into this pleasant and well-furnished world, who 
supported us in our tender infancy, who guarded us 
in the thoughtless days of childhood and youth, who 
has hitherto continually helped, sustained, and pre- 
served us. Nothing can be more reasonable than 
that we should acknowledge him as our rightful 
owner, and our Sovereign Ruler ; than that we should 
devote ourselves to him as our most gracious Bene- 
factor, and seek him as our supreme felicity. No- 
thing can be more apparently equitable than that we, 



SELF DEDICATION URf 

f his Son's 
If you sec 

in its just view, it will be the gri-T of your 
soul that you h I • irself from the 

. ill you be from 
wishing 10 in that state of alienation an- 

l bring 
Lack i 

in tim- ;s as instruments 

of onri you will 

i as alive from the i 
and to employ "your members as instruments of 
1 iod." Rom. : 13. 
3. The surrender will also be as entire as it is 
il ami immediate. All you arc, and all you 
md ail yon '-hi do, your time, your possessions, 
ithera, will be devoted to him, 
that for the future it ma) 
nim, and to hifl glory. Yon will 
hack- nothing from him ; hut will - judge 

tnat you are then in the truest and n 
your own, when you are most enl 

M>, on this great OC _ r n all that 

you have to the disposal of h -\icious 

not only owning hi> power, but con- 

ndoubted right to do what he ; 

"id nil that he has given VOU j ami declar- 

probatiot of all that he has done, nnd 

rther do. 



SELF-DEDICATION URGED. 233 

4. Once more, let me remind you that this sur- 
render must be perpetual. You must give yourself 
up to God in such a manner as never more to pre- 
tend to be your own ; for the rights of God are, like 
his nature, eternal and immutable ; and with regard 
to his rational creatures, are the same yesterday, to- 
day, and for ever. 

5. I would farther advise and urge that this dedi- 
cation may be made with all possible solemnity. Do 
it in express words. And perhaps it may be in many 
cases most expedient, as many pious divines have 
recommended, to do it in writing. Set your hand 
and seal to it, " that on such a day of such a month 
and year, and at such a place, on full consideration 
and serious reflection, you came to this happy reso- 
lution, that, whatsoever others might do, you would 
serve the Lord." Josh. 24: 15. 

6. Such an instrument you may, if you please, 
draw up for yourself; or, if you rather choose to 
have it drawn up to your hand, you may find some- 
thing of this nature below, in which you may easily 
make such alterations as shall suit your circum- 
stances, where there is any thing peculiar in them. 
But whatever you use, weigh it well, meditate atten- 
tively upon it, that you may " not be rash with your 
mouth to utter any thing before God." Eccl. 5 : 2. 
And when you determine to execute this instrument, 
let the transaction be attended with some more than 
ordinary religious retirement. Make it, if you eon- 

20* 



FORM OF 8ELF-DEDICATIOH. 

▼eferr. of secret fasting and prayer; 

and when your heart is ; :th a becoming 

•h an humble confi- 
Lfl his goodness, and an • of his 

before 
ind read . and sob 

..ave signed it, lay it by in M 

ewe j 

please; and make it a rule with yourself to l 
it, if j ns of the year, that 

you may keep Dp the rem< 

prant that you may be enabled to keep it, and in the 
whole of your conversation to walk according to it. 
.May it be an anchor to your soul in every temple 
ad a cordial to it in every affliction. May the 
recollection of it embolden \ >ses to the 

throne of grace now, and give additional strength to 
rting spirit, in a COB M that it is 

i 
aer, who- ind faithful- 

ness will securely "keep what you commit to him 
onto that day. ' 8 Tim. l 12. 

An Example of Self- Dedication. 

irnal and nnchi thou great 

: lorable Lord of 

angel* I with the deepest humilia- 

:ion and abasement of soul, to fall down at this 



FORM OF SELF-DEDICATION. 235 

m thine awful presence, and earnestly pray that 
thou wilt penetrate my heart with a suitable sense 
of thine unutterable and inconceivable glories. 

" Trembling may justly take hold upon me, (Job, 
20: 6,) when I, a sinful worm, presume to lift up 
my head to thee, presume to appear in thy majestic 
presence on such an occasion as this. Who am I, 
O Lord God! or what is my house? What is my 
nature or descent, my character and desert, that I 
should thus address the King of kings, and Lord of 
lords ! I blush and am confounded before thee. But, 

Lord ! great as is thy majesty, so also is thy mer- 
cy. If. thou wilt hold converse with any of thy crea- 
tures, thy superlatively exalted nature must stoop, 
must stoop infinitely low. And I know, that in and 
through Jesus, the Son of thy love, thou condescend- 
est to visit sinful mortals, and to allow their ap- 
proach to thee, and their covenant intercourse with 
thee ; nay, I know that the scheme and plan is thine 
own, and that thou hast graciously sent to propose 
it to us ; as none untaught by thee would have been 
able to form it, or inclined to embrace it, even when 
actually proposed. 

" To thee therefore do I now come, invited by the 
name of thy Son, and trusting in his righteousness 
and grace. Laying myself at thy feet, ' with shame 
and confusion of face,' and ' smiting upon my breast,' 

1 say, with the humble publican, ? God be merciful 
to me a sinner!' Luke, 18: 13. I acknowledge, O 



M OF SELF DFM< VTIOV 

Lord ! that I mot. ' My 

sins I 

• my Lniqaitici are lift 

-ilies of my corrupt- 

i^rava- 
led i.** rruh unto 

I if hou shouldst be 

to mark m J ■ load 

-, and immediately sink into destruction 
thou i. 

I ift'p, a prodigal 

son, a backsliding child. Jer. ; : o 1 J , there- 

fore, OLoTd! [ come unto thee [come, com 

v of my sin, but of my folly. I come, from 
ry heart ai end w ith an ac- 

knowledgment, io the sincerity and humility of my 
soul, that ' I haw p] 

21 I am cont"< 

nga; but be 
v unrighteousness, and do not 
remember against me my sins and my 

1!.!. 8 12. Permit me, <> Lord, to bring 

into thee those i aich I 

itefully an i from 

I v poor 

ted creature, who ia now convinced of thy right 

to binn ires nothing in the vnrld so 

: is to be thine ! 

' it is with the utmost solamnil 



FORM OF SELF-DEDICATION. 237 

I make this surrender of myself unto thee. ' Hear 

heavens ! and give ear, O earth ! I avouch the 
Lord this day to be my God, (Deut. 26: 17,) and I 
avouch and declare myself this day to be one of his 
covenant children and people. Hear, O thou God 
of heaven ! and record it in the book of thy remem- 
brance,' (Mat. 3: 16,) that henceforth I am thine, 
entirely thine. I would not merely consecrate unto 
thee some of my powers, or some of my possessions, 
or give thee a certain proportion of my services, or 
all I am capable of for a limited time ; but I would 
be wholly thine, and thine for ever. From this day 

1 would solemnly renounce all the ' former lords 
which have had dominion over me,' (Isai. 26 : 13,) 
every sin and every lust ; and bid, in thy name, an 
eternal defiance to the powers of hell, which have 
most unjustly usurped the empire over my soul, and 
to all the corruptions which their fatal temptations 
have introduced into it. The whole frame of my 
nature, all the faculties of my mind, and all the mem- 
bers of my body, would I present before thee this 
day, ' as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto 
God, which ' I know to be ■ my most reasonable ser- 
vice.' Rom. 12: 1. To thee I consecrate all my 
worldly possessions : in thy service I desire to spend 
all the remainder of my time upon earth, and beg thou 
wouldst instruct and influence me, so that, whether 
my abode here be longer or shorter, every year and 
month, every day and hour, may be used in such a 



von* op »ELr-DroicAr 

rasshall 'hinehonor, 

racious 

I . that, whatever 

v of the 

I v Stand, or 

in cor: of nnv | which may 

. 
• If to the utmost : 
glory; t only that 1 will myself do it, 

but that all others, 80 I uonally and pro- 

perly influence I ill serve the Lord.' Josh. 

'±■1 : 15. In tin <J blessed God! would I 

steadily persevere to the very end of life ; ear 
praying, that every future day of it may supply the 
deficiencies' and correct the irregularities of the for- 
mer; and that I may, by nabled 
y to hold on in that happy way, but daily to 
grow more active in it ! 

r do I on!;, ate all that I am and havo 

to thy service, hut I also moat nun n, and 

submit to thy holy and BO '.(, and 

all that I can call mine. 1 leave, O Lord ! to thy 

,'. and direction, all 1 possess, and all I 

vment and e\ 

Con- 

what thou hast given me; bestow 

1 ie ] Lord, shali 

see g<" I I will never 

.ay venture to say, that 1 



FORM OF SELF-DEDICATION. 239 

jabor not only to submit, but to acquiesce ; not only 
to bear what thou doest in thy most afflictive dispen- 
sations, but to consent to it, and to praise thee for it ; 
contentedly resolving, in all thou appointest for me, 
my will into thine, and looking on myself as nothing, 
and on thee, God ! as the great eternal all, 
whose word ought to determine every thing, and 
whose government ought to be the joy of the whole 

rational creation. 

" Use me, O Lord ! I beseech thee, as the instru- 
ment of thy glory ; and honor me so far, as, either 
by doing or suffering what thou shalt appoint, to 
bring some revenue of praise to thee, and of benefit 
to the world in which I dwell ! And may it please 
thee, from this day forward, to number me among 
thy peculiar people ! that I may ' no more be a 
stranger and foreigner, but a fellow-citizen w r ith the 
saints, and of the household of God !' Eph. 2 : 19. 
Receive, O heavenly Father ! thy returning prodi- 
gal ! Wash me in the blood of thy dear Son ; clothe 
me with his perfect righteousness ; and sanctify me 
throughout by the power of thy Spirit ! Destroy, I 
beseech thee, more and more the power of sin in my 
heart ! Transform me more into thine own image, 
and fashion me to the resemblance of Jesus, whom 
henceforward I would acknowledge as my teacher 
and sacrifice, my intercessor and my Lord ! Com- 
municate to me, I beseech thee, all needful influen- 
ces of thy purifying, thy cheering, and thy comfort 



FORM OF IILFDE1 

ing Spin: I And lift up that ' light of thy countenance 
upon me, 1 winch will put the sublime* joy and 
' gladness into i: 

•• 1 tispose my affairs, < > I I Bf which 

may bf most subservient to tl. ind my own 

li 1 have done and borne 

nth, call DM il what time 

and in what manner thou only grant, that 

dying momenta, and in 
eternity. 1 may remember these my engagem- 
thee, and may employ my latest breath in thy ser- 
vice. And do thou, Lord, when thou seest the ago- 
nies of dissolving nature upon me, remember this 
covenant too, even though I should then be incapa- 
ble of recollecting it. Look down, O my hea 
Father ! with a pitying eye, upon thy b 
thy dying child ; place thine everlasting arms under- 
neath me for my support; put strength and confi- 
dence into my departing spirit, and receive it to the 
embraces of thin ting love. Welcome it to 

the abodes of them that sleep in Jesus, (1 These. 4: 
14,) to wait with them that glorious day, when the 
last of thy promises to thy thai] be 

fulfilled in their triumphant resurrection, and in that 

int entrance which shall be administered to 

them into that everlasting kingdom, (2 Pet l 
of which thou hast assured them by thy i 
and in the bope of which 1 now lay hold of it, de- 
siring to live and to die, as with mine hand on that 
hope. 



FORM OF SELF-DEDICATION. 241 

" And when I am thus numbered among the dead, 
*nd all the interests of mortality are over with me for 
ever, if this solemn memorial should chance to fall 
into the hands of my surviving friends, may it be 
the means of making serious impressions on their 
minds. May they read it, not only as my language, 
but as their own ; and learn to fear the Lord my 
God, and with me, to put their trust under the sha- 
dow of his wing for time and for eternity ! And may 
they also learn to adore with me that grace which 
inclines our hearts to enter into the covenant, and 
condescends to admit us into it when so inclined j 
ascribing, with me, and with all the nations of the 
redeemed, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, that glory, honor, and praise, which is so 
justly due to each divine person for the part he bears 
in this illustrious work. Amen." 

N. B. For the sake of those who may think the preceding 
Form of Self-Dedication too long to be transcribed, as it 
is possible many will, I have, at the desire of a much es- 
teemed friend, added the following Abridgment of it, 
which should, by ail means, be attentively weighed in eve- 
ry clause before it is executed ; and any word or phrase 
which may seem liable to exception, changed, that the 
whole heart may consent to it all. 

11 Eternal and ever-blessed God ! I desire to pre- 
sent myself before thee, with the deepest humiliation 
and abasement of soul, sensible how unworthy such 
a sinful worm is to appear before the holy Majesty 

ni R. & Progiess. 



242 form of IBLf DEPICATIOW. 

of he King of kinp-s ami Lord of lords, and 

especially on in as ihis, ever to m 

tut the scheme 
and plan is thine • 

hath 
ined my heart to accept of it. 
• I 

smiting upon my breast, and 
saying with the humble pub 

tc a sinner ! ' I come, invited 
Son, and wholly trusting in his righteous- 

ness, entreating that for his sake thou wilt be mer- 
ciful to my unrighteousness, and wilt no more 
remember my sins. Receive, 1 beseech thee, thy 
revolted creature, who is now convinced of thy I 
to him, and desires nothing so much as thai 
be th 

" This day do I, with the utmost solemnity 
render myself to in e. 1 ren mce all former lords 
that have had dominion over me I 

to thee all that 1 am, and all that I 

of my mind, the members of my body, my u 
ly possessions, my time, ami my inllu- i 

■ be all used entirely foi thy glory, and re- 
itely employed in obedience to thy command 
as thou continues! me in life; with an ardent 
re and humble resolution to continue tl 
through all tl 
ing i ure to ol 



FORM OF SELF DEDICATION. 243 

first intimations of thy will, and ready to spring for- 
ward with zeal and joy to the immediate execution 
of it. 

11 To thy direction also I resign myself, and all I 
am and have, to be disposed of by thee in such a 
manner as thou shalt in thine infinite wisdom judge 
most subservient to the purposes of thy glory. To 
thee I leave the management of all events, and say 
without reserve, ' Not my will, but thine be done,' 
rejoicing with a loyal heart in thine unlimited go- 
vernment, as what ought to be the delight of the 
whole rational creation. 

" Use me, Lord, I beseech thee, as an instru- 
ment of thy service ! number me among thy pecu- 
liar people ! Let me be washed in the blood of thy 
dear Son ! Let me be clothed with his righteousness ! 
Let me be sanctified by his Spirit ! Transform me 
more and more into his image ! Impart to me, 
through him, all needful influences of thy purifying, 
cheering, and comforting Spirit ! And let my life be 
spent under those influences, and in the light of thy 
gracious countenance, as my Father and my God ! 

" And when the solemn hour of death comes, 
may I remember thy covenant, ■ well ordered in 
all things and sure, as all my salvation and all my 
desire,' (2 Sam. 23 : 5,) though every hope and en- 
joyment is perishing; and do thou, O Lord! re- 
member it too. Look down with pity, O my heavenly 
Father, on thy languishing, dying child ! Embrace 



144 FORM OF SELFDEDICATIOJC. 

Put strength and 
con:; spirit, and receive it to 

the is, peacefully 

joyfully to wait the accomplishment of thy gl 
promise to all thy ; ■ glorious re- 

Mirredion, and of eternal happiness in thiii 
ly presence ! 

my surviving friend should, when I am 
in the um- :th this memorial of my Mil 

transactions with thee, may he make the engage- 

i his own; and do thou graciously admit him to 
partake in all the blessings of thy cow nan r. 
through Jesus the great .Mediator of it ; to whom, 
with thee, O Father, and thy Holy Spirit, be ever- 
lasting praises ascribed, by all the millions who are 
thus thee, and by all those other eel. - 

spirits in whose work and blev hou shall 

call them to share! Amen." 



ON THE LORD S SUPPER. 245 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ON COMMUNION IN THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

1. If the reader has received the Ordinance of Baptism, and, 
as above recommended, dedicated himself to God. — 2. He is 
urged to ratify that engagement at the Table of the Lord. — 
3. From a view of the ends for which that Ordinance was 
instituted. — 4. Whence its usefulness is strongly inferred. — 
5. And from the Authority of Christ's Appointment, which 
is solemnly pressed on the conscience. — 6. Objections from 
apprehensions of Unfitness. — 7. Weakness of grace, <$*o. 
briefly answered. — 8. At least, serious thoughtfulness on this 
subject is absolutely insisted upon. — 9. The chapter is closed 
with a prayer for one who desires to attend, yet finds himself 
0r pressed with remaining doubts. 

1. I hope this chapter will find you, by a most 
express consent, become one of God's covenant peo- 
ple, solemnly and most cordially devoted to his ser- 
vice ; and it is my hearty prayer, that the engage- 
ments you have made on earth may be ratified in 
heaven. But for your farther instruction and edifica- 
tion, give me leave to remind you, that our Lord 
Jesus Christ hath appointed a peculiar manner of 
expressing our regard to him, by commemorating 
his dying love, which, though it does not forbid any 
other proper way of doing it, must by no means be 
set aside or neglected for any human methods, how 
2i« 



OM THE LORD'S MTPER. 

pruci- may appear to us. 

16 advan- 
tages of society should be brought into religion; 

is of pub! .p, so he 

has been pleated to ••, in 

which ■ whole assembly of them is to come to his 
table, and then to eel lb and drink the 

Clip. And this they are to do, a a of 

their affectionate remembrance of his 
their irrender of themseh .J of 

their .sincere love to one another, and to all their 
low-Christians. 

3. That these are indeed the great ends of the 
Lord's supper, I shall not now stay to argu 
large. You need only read what the apostle PauL 
hath written in the tenth and eleventh chapters am 
his first epistle to the Corinthians, to convince you 
fully of this. He there expressly tells us, that our 
commanded " the bread to 1 • 
to be drunk, in remembrance of him," (1 C 

1 1 24, 25,) or as I commemoration or memorial of 

him; so that, as often as we attend this institution, 

-how forth the Lord's death," which we are to 

even until he come," 1 ('or. 11 : 26. And it 

irticularly asserted, that "the cup is t] 

mi. m in bit blood;" that is, it ia s seal of that 

which was ratified by bis blood. Now, it 

. that, in consequence of this, we are to ap- 



ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. 247 

proach it with a view to that covenant, desiring its 
blessings, and resolving, by divine grace, to comply 
with its demands. On the whole, therefore, as tne 
apostle speaks, we have " communion in the body 
and the blood of Christ,*' (1 Cor. 10 : 16,) and par- 
taking of his table and of his cup, we converse with 
Christ, and join ourselves to him as his people ; as 
the Jews, by eating their sacrifices, conversed with 
Jehovah, and joined themselves to him. He farther 
reminds them, that, though many, they were " one 
bread and one body," being " all partakers of that 
one bread," (1 Cor. 10 : 17,) and being "all made 
to drink into one Spirit;" (1 Cor. 12: 13.) that is, 
meeting together as if they w r ere but one family, and 
joining in the commemoration of that one blood 
which was their common ransom, and of the Lord 
Jesus, their common head. Now, it is evident, all 
these reasonings are equally applicable to Chris- 
tians in succeeding ages. Permit me, therefore, by 
the authority of our divine Master, to press upon you 
the observation of this precept. 

4. And let me also urge it, from the apparent ten- 
dency which it has to promote your truest advantage. 
You are setting out in the Christian life ; and I have 
reminded you at large of the opposition you must 
expect to meet in it. It is the love of Christ which 
must animate you to break through all. What then 
can be more desirable than to bear about with you a 
lively sense of it 1 and what can awaken that sense 



more than the th as there 

behold the bread broken, and 

body 

•f th . his 

: lood po'i like 

le I with U 

What an exalted new doth 

iigs of the Gospel-covenant, con- 

sider it as established in the blood of God's only- 
begotten Son ! And when ire make our approach to 
God as our heavenly Father, and pre up ourselves 
to his service in this solemn manner, what an awful 

it to fix tin- conviction, tl 
our own, being bought with such a price! l l 

W bat b I rd us 

rery temptation to tl 
so solemnly renounced, and I our fidelity to 

him to whom we have DOU1 tfa an 

I Well may our hearts be ki 

tun! I. 2 : 2 f ) u hen 

rist "' (< ■ bia blood becomes 

at of the E • not only 

I it •• to all that in ev< 

Christ r Lord, both theirs 
I 2,) and we anticipate in ; 
ling shall 



ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. 249 

be complete, and we shall all " be for ever with the 
Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17. Well may these views en- 
gage us to deny ourselves, and to " take up our cross 
and follow our crucified Master." Matt. 16 : 24. 
Well may they engage us to do our utmost, by 
prayer, and all other suitable endeavors, to serve his 
followers and his friends ; to serve those whom he 
hath purchased with his blood, and who are to be 
his associates and ours, in the glories of a happy 
immortality. 

5. It is also the express institution and command 
of our blessed Redeemer, that the members of such 
societies should be tenderly solicitous for the spiri- 
tual welfare of each other : and that, on the whole, 
his churches may be kept pure and holy, that they 
should " withdraw themselves from every brother 
that walketh disorderly;" (2 Thess. 3 : 6,) that they 
should "mark such as cause offences" or scandals 
among them, " contrary to the doctrine which they 
have learned, and avoid them;" (Rom. 16 : 17,) 
u that if any obey not the word of Christ by his apos- 
tles," they should " have no fellowship or commu- 
nion with such, that they may oe ashamed;" (2 
Thess. 3 : 14,) that they should " not eat with such 
as are notoriously irregular" in their behavior, but, 
on the contrary, should " put away from among 
themselves such wicked persons," 1 Cor. 5 : 1 1-13. 
It is evident, therefore, that the institution of such 
societies is greatly for the honor of Christianity, and 



230 LORD S •JfpPER. 

fill r profess 01 

ice lo our 

II own 

[Dire that 

I 
shou . iiem, 

ti of com- 

. 
his authority, I charge 
it on that this precept of our d\ 

not, us it were, fer nothing with you; but 
that, if you indeed love him, you keep this, as well 
as the rest of his commandments. 1 know you may 
be r I have eiaewhen 

ihief of th( i.l I hope 

not without some good effect* The -tion 

is that which relate -red for a 

worthy Attendance; and in con; 

re, 1 think that may be brought to 

Have jrou, - ..now 

r own heart, been sincere in that deli!- 

ler of yom rod, through Christ, which 1 

in the former chapter.' If you have, 

thei it were with or without the particular form 

or manner of doing it there recommended, yon have 

taken hold of the covenant, and then 

edienci to all 

•S«- ona. 



ON THE LORDS SUPPER. 251 

his commands. And there is not, and cannot be, any- 
other view of the ordinance in which you can have 
any further objection to it. If you desire to remem- 
ber Christ's death ; if you desire to renew the dedi- 
cation of yourself to God through him ; if you would 
list yourself among his people ; if you would love 
them, and do them good according to your ability, 
and, on the whole, would not allow yourself in the 
practice of any one known sin, or in the omission of 
any one known duty, then I will venture confidently 
to say, not only that you will be welcome to the or- 
dinance, but that it was instituted for such as you. 

7. As for other objections, a few words may suf- 
fice by way of reply. The weakness of the religious 
principle in your soul, if it be really implanted there, 
is so far from being an argument against your seek- 
ing such a method to strengthen it, that it rather 
strongly enforces the necessity of doing it. The ne- 
glect of this solemnity, by so many that call them- 
selves Christians, should rather engage you so much 
the more to distinguish your zeal for an institution 
in this respect so much slighted and injured. And as 
for the fears of aggravated guilt, in case of apostacy, 
do not indulge them. This may, by the divine bless- 
ing, be an effectual remedy against the evil you fear ; 
and it is certain, that after what you must already 
have known and felt, before you could be brought 
into your present situation, (on the supposition I 
have now been making) there can be no room to 



rBl ioi. ; ;-kr. 

think of n for the « 

hope of being lest 

those that ha\ • .'fore, 

Ice your salvation a- . to make 

- glorious, as possih '.•■ 1 know not any ap- 

pointim-nt of our blessed I U ••:.,•:. 
a m -sed end, 

than this which I am recommi vou. 

8. One thing I would at least insist upon, and 1 
not with what face it can 1 
that vou should take this matter into serious conside- 
ration ; that you should diligently inquire, " whether 
you have reason in your con it is 

the will of God you should now approach to the 
ordinance or not ;" and that you should continue 
your reflections, your inquiries, anil your 
till you find farther encoun 

encouragement be hitherto wanting. For of 
be Mfured, thai a state in which you are on the 

whole unfit to approach this ordinance 
which you are destitute of the necessary preparations 
fur death and heaven ; in which, th vou 

would not allow yourselves to slumber on the brink 
of destruction, you ought not to rest so much as one 
single day. 



ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. 253 



A Prayer for one who earnestly desires to approach the Table 
of the Lord, yet has some remaining doubts concerning his 
right to that solemn ordinance. 

" Blessed Lord ! I adore thy wise and gracious 
appointments, for the edification of thy church in 
holiness and in love. I thank thee that thou hast 
commanded thy servants to form themselves into 
churches; and I adore my gracious Savior, who 
hath instituted, as with his dying breath, the holy 
solemnity of his Supper, to be through all ages a 
memorial of his dying love, and a bond of that union 
which it is his sovereign pleasure that his people 
should preserve. I hope thou, Lord, art witness to 
the sincerity with which I desire to give myself up 
to thee ; and that I may call thee to record on my 
soul, that, if I now hesitate about this particular 
manner of doing it, it is not because I would allow 
myself to break any of thy commands, or to slight 
any of thy favors. I trust thou knowest that my 
present delay arises only from my uncertainty as to 
my duty, and a fear of profaning holy things by an 
unworthy approach to them. Yet surely, O Lord ! 
if thou hast given me a reverence for thy command, 
a desire of communion with thee, and a willingness 
to devote myself wholly to thy service, I may re- 
gard it as a token for good, that thou art disposed 
to receive me, and that I am not wholly unqualified 
for an ordinance which I so highly honor and so 

on R> &■ Progress. 



PEE. 

[then t my 

I i this d 

i mv 
duty | 

ami P ■.. I • 

sin, in t b I would in- 

tunl 
: which I would allow myself? I t. 

• 
il absence from thy sacred t 
Lord ! L I 

thy Spirit, may so concur as to ' : 
plain Prov 1 5 

• 
n I Fi I me wi h mi 

miii 

thy servant in tally my duty 

: but that i dili- 

wli.r 

dly 



ON THE LORDS SUPPER. 2->J 

constrain my soul, that my own growing experience 
may put it out of all question that I am one of those* 
for whom he intended this feast of love ! 

" And even now, as joined to thy church in spirit 
and in love, though not in so express and intimate a 
bond as I could wish, would I heartily pray that 
thy blessing may be on all thy people ; that thou 
wouldst 'feed thine heritage, and lift them up for 
ever !' Psalm 28 : 9. May every Christian church 
flourish in knowledge, in holiness, and in love ! 
May all thy priests be clothed with salvation, that 
by their means thy chosen people may be made 
joyful. Psalm 132 : 16. And may there be a glori- 
ous accession to thy churches every where, of those 
who may fly to them ' as a cloud, and as doves to 
their windows. 3 Isaiah, 60 : 8. May thy table, O 
Lord! be 'furnished with guests,' (Matt. 22 : 10,) 
and may all that 'love thy salvation say, Let the 
Lord be magnified, who hath pleasure in the pros- 
perity of his servants.' Psalm 35 : 27. And I ear- 
nestly pray, that ail who profess ' to have received 
Christ Jesus the Lord,' may be duly careful to ' walk 
in him,' (Col. 2 : 6,) and that we may all be pre- 
pared for the general assembly of the first-born, and 
may join in that nobler and more immediate wor- 
ship where all these types and shadows shall be laid 
aside; where even these memorials shall be no 
longer necessary ; but a living, present Redeemer 
shall be the everlasting joy of those who here in 



256 COM MINION WITH COD 

his absence haw : to commemorate his 

death. Amen! 



CHAPTER XIX. 



ROME MOBS PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR MAlNT.* 

AL OOMMUNION WITH OOD, OR BEING IN HIS FEAR ALL Till 
DAY !. 

1. +1 letter to a pious friend on this suhjert introduced here. — 
'J. General plan oj —'.'■ /' ■ . 

tkt dav. — 1. Lifting i ■> the heart to God at our first awa- 
kening.— 6 I 1 rsclves to the secret devotions of the 
W" particular a — 
11. /'"■■■:■ egrets oj ' • —IS D is are given 
concerning seriousness in devotion. — 13 D .■ nee m busi 
ness. — 1 1 I' recreation*. — 15. Observations oj 
Providence. — lt*>. II nst tcmpttiti >i< —\~ 
Dependence on divine influence.— 18. d 
thoughts irhrn in solitude. — 19. Monagewe ' ' I > ■ :.'S*in 

:;■■"!/. — 90, Fur th- conclusion e»f U A 

secret devotions of tkt 

examinati on at large— 84. Lying down . r tewv- 

per. — ::>. CenduSUm eft -•■chapter. 

■r to be taken at the clou 
of tr. 

1. 1 would hop.', that upon serious consideration, 
mlfllllll ilHltion, and prayer, the reader has given 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 25? 

himself up to God; and that his concern now is to 
inquire, how he may act according to the vows of 
God which are upon him. Now, for his farther as- 
sistance here, besides the general view I have al- 
ready o-iven of the Christian temper and character, 
I will propose some more particular directions re- 
lating to maintaining that devout, spiritual, and hea- 
venly character, which may, in the language of 
Scripture, be called " a daily walking with God, or 
being in his fear all the day long." Prov. 23: 17. 
And I know not how I can express the idea and 
plan which I have formed of this, in a more clear 
and distinct manner than I did in a letter which I 
wrote many years ago [in 1727] to a young person 
of eminent piety, with whom I had then an intimate 
friendship ; and who, to the great grief of all that 
knew him, died a few months after he received it. 
Yet I hope he lived long enough to reduce the di- 
rections to practice, which I wish and pray that 
every reader may do, so far as they may properly 
suit his capacities and circumstances in life, consi- 
dering it as if addressed to himself. I say, and de- 
sire it may be observed, that I wish my reader may 
act on these directions so far as they may properly 
suit his capacity and circumstances in life; for I 
would be far from laying down the following par- 
ticulars as universal rules for all, or for any one 
person in the world, at all times. Let them be prac- 
ticed by those that are able, and when they bavq 
22* 



258 <~OMM UNION WITH OOD- 

leisure ; and when you cann »t reach them all, come 
as near the most impor von conve- 

V9 . ;i I proceed I 

ietter, whicli I would | . ious care 

to guard api : mistaking it, will 

not d ny, the w- .. \jel us 

^humbly and cheerfully do what I nd rejoice 

that so gracious a 1 rho knows all 

our infirmities, and so compassio 
to recommend to divine accept. u >t ef- 

forts of sincere duty and love! 

My dear FritJid, 

Since you desire my thoughts in writing, and at 
large, on the subject of our late conversation, viz. 
"By what particular methods, in our daily conduct, 
a life of devotion and usefulness hap 

pily maintained and s A myself with 

cheerfulness to recollect and digest the hints which 
1 then gave you ; hoping it may be ofsoflQ 
to you in your most important interests ; and may 
also fix on my own mind a deep : my obli- 

gations to govern my own life by the rules I offer 
to others. 1 esteem attempts of this kind among 
the pleasantest fruits, and the sure-', cements of 

friendship ; and as 1 hope ours will List foi ever. I 

am persuaded a mutual care to cherish sentiments 

of this kind will add everlasting endearments to it. 

2. The directions you will expect from me on 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 259 

this occasion naturally divide themselves into three 
heads : How we are to regard God in the begin- 
ning ; the progress ; and the close of the day. I 
will open my heart freely to you with regard to each, 
and will leave you to judge how far these hints may 
suit your circumstances ; aiming at least to keep 
between the extremes of a superstitious strictness in 
trifles, and an indolent remissness, which, if admit- 
ted in little things, may draw after it criminal neg- 
lects, and at length more criminal indulgences. 

3. In the beginning of the day : It should cer- 
tainly be our care to lift up our hearts to God as 
soon as we wake, and while we are rising; and 
then, to set ourselves seriously and immediately to 
the secret devotions of the morning. 

4. For the first of these it seems exceedingly natu- 
ral. There are so many things that may suggest a 
great variety of pious reflections and ejaculations, 
which are so obvious that one would think a serious 
mind could hardly miss them. The ease and cheer- 
fulness of our mind on our first awaking; the re- 
freshment we find from sleep ; the security we have 
enjoyed in that defenceless state ; the provision of 
warm and decent apparel ; the cheerful light of the 
returning sun ; or even (which is not unfit to men- 
tion to you) the contrivances of art, taught and fur- 
nished by the great Author of all our conveniences, 
to supply us with many useful hours of life in the 
absence of the sun ; the hope of returning to the dear 



of our fr. 

and the impr 
incnt of our i all, the 1: 

hop 

mail] >h us 

wit!; 

r our furti. 

done at this tin 
per to speak sometimes to ourselves, and & 
to our heavenly Father, in the nature :ons 

of joy and thankfulness. Permit me, Sir, to add, I 
if we find our hearts in such a frame at our 

i that is just matter of p] 
rather, as perhaps it is an answer tu the prayer with 
which we lay down. 

.". For th( 
rag, which I hope will generally be our fir 
1 cannot prescribe an exact n 
must, my deal friend, consult your own taste in i 
measure. The constituent ; 
m the general, plain. Were 1 to propose a pari 

lar model for those who have half or three quartan 

•ir at command, which, with prud 

moat may have, it should he this 

; ,-' Stated devotions of the day with 
a solemn act of praise, offered to < fad on our km 

•rally with a low, yet distinct voice; ac. 
knowledging the m have been reflecting on 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 261 

while rising, never forgetting to mention Christ as 
the great foundation of all our enjoyments and our 
hopes, or to return thanks for the influences of the 
blessed Spirit, which have led our hearts to God, or 
are then engaging us to seek him. This, as well as 
other offices of devotion afterwards mentioned, must 
be done attentively and sincerely ; for not to offer 
our praises heartily, is, in the sight of God, not to 
praise him at all. This address of praise may pro- 
perly be concluded with an express renewal of our 
dedication to God, declaring our continued repeated 
resolution of being devoted to him, and particularly 
of living to his glory the ensuing day. 

7. It may be proper, after this, to take a prospect 
of the day before us, so far as we can probably fore- 
see, in the general, where and how it may^be spent; 
and seriously to reflect, " How shall I employ my- 
self for God this day ? What business is to be done, 
and in what order ? What opportunities may I ex 
pect, either of doing or of receiving good ? What 
temptations am I likely to be assaulted with, in any 
place, company, or circumstances, which may pro- 
bably occur ? In what instance have I lately failed 1 
And how shall I be safest now 1" 

8. After this review it will be proper to offer up 
a short prayer, begging that God would quicken us 
to each of these foreseen duties ; that he would forti- 
fy us against each of these apprehended dangers ; 
that he would grant us success in such or such a bu- 



I- A 1 1. \ DETOT1 

'. ' . 1 ' -. 

Bible but sou. ns out of 

. parts, perhaps ten or tweli 
not troubling yourself much abo 
tion, or other critical 
though at other times I would recomi 

. inquiry, as you have ability and opportu 

. ! I rel 
ly present the • your th< 

over to your own c 
religiously to observe them, and 
der a of the divine authoi 

Scripture with your Bible i 
impress your memory and your hi 

ly, and may form you I I \:i- 

I 

10. It i. 
with a psalm or hymn; and 1 rejoice with you. that 
throu 



DAILV DEVOTIONS. 263 

• he closet and family on these occasions, as well as 
for the service of the sanctuary. 

11. The most material directions which have oc- 
curred to me relating to the progress of the day, are 
these : That we be serious in the devotions of the 
day; that we be diligent in the business of it, that is, 
in the prosecution of our worldly callings ; that we 
be temperate and prudent in the recreations of it; 
that we carefully mark the providences of the day ; 
that we cautiously guard against the temptations of 
it; that we keep up a lively and humble dependence 
upon the divine influence, suitable to every emer- 
gency of it ; that we govern our thoughts well in the 
solitude of the day, and our discourses well in the 
conversations of it. These, Sir, were the heads of a 
sermon which you have lately heard .me preach, and 
to which I know you referred in that request which 
I am now endeavoring to answer. I will therefore 
touch upon the most material hints which fall un- 
der each of these particulars. 

12. For seriousness in devotion, whether public 
or domestic, let us take a few moments before we 
enter upon such solemnities, to pause, and reflect on 
the perfections of the God we are addressing, on the 
importance of the business we are coming about, on 
the pleasure and advantage of a regular and devout 
attendance, and on the guilt and folly of an hypocri- 
tical formality. When engaged, let us maintain a 
strict watchfulness over our own spirits and check 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 

the first wanderings of thought And when the duty 
is o\. the manner in 

which n h a been ; <>ur own con- 

sci' nces ••■ n to conclude thai 

wi' ai a it? F 

manm ting throu \ hich cur 

own hearts will immediately tell us " it is imj 
Lie : ! if we have mad-. 

ently fill 1 en into it, we ought to be deeply humbled 
before God tor it, lest " our very prayer become 
Psalm 109 : 7. 

13. As for the hours of worldly business, whether 
it be that of the hands, or the labor of a learned life 
not immediately relating- to religious matters, let us 
set to the prosecution of it with a sense of God's 
authority, and with a n /aid to his glory. Let us 
avoid a dreaming, indolent temper, which 

nods ore* its work, and docs only the business of 
one hour in two or three. In opposition to this, 
which runs through the life oi >ple, who 

yet think they are never idle, let Ul H to 

despatch as mu well can in a little time ; con- 

sidering that it is but a littl< in all. And 

let ua be habitually sensible d we have of 

fine blessing to make our labors successful. 

II For seasons of diversion, let us take care that 
our reen jen ; that they be pursu- 

ed with a tention, to fit us for a renewed ap- 

plication to the labors of life j and thus that they 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 265 

be only used in subordination to the honor of God, 
the great end of all our actions. Let us take heed, 
that our hearts be not estranged from God by them ; 
and that they do not take up too much of our time ; 
always remembering that the faculties of human 
nature, and the advantages of the Christian revela- 
tion, were not given us in vain ; but that we are al- 
ways to be in pursuit of some great and honorable 
end, and to indulge ourselves in amusements and 
diversions no farther than as they make a part in a 
scheme of rational and manly, benevolent and pious 
conduct. 

15. For the observation of Providence, it will be 
useful to regard the divine interposition in our com- 
forts and in our afflictions. In our comforts, whether 
more common or extraordinary: that we find our- 
selves in continued health ; that we are furnished 
with food for support and pleasure ; that we have so 
many agreeable ways of employing our time ; that 
we have so many friends, and those so good, and so 
happy : that our business goes on so prosperously ; 
that we go out and come in safely ; and that we en- 
joy composure and cheerfulness of spirit, 'without 
which nothing else could be enjoyed: all these 
should be regarded as providential favors, and due 
acknowledgments should be made to God on these 
accounts, as we pass through such agreeable* scenes. 
On tne other hand, Providence is to be regarded in 
every disappointment, in every loss, in every pain, in 



26 



R, & Progress. 



DAILY DITOTIOW. 

from those who have 
pro;- bould endeavor to 

-ion, from this 
that the hand of G - me- 

• m ; and 
that, if thi nee, 

they 

which we should particularly 
lion to those little cross accident.-. 

I them,) and those infirmities and folliel in the 
temper and conduct of our intim :s, which 

be ready to discompose 
more; necessary to guard our minds here, as wise and 
good nK'ii often lose the command of themselves on 
these comparatively little occasions; who, call 
up reason and religion to th< I tiie 

• calamities with fortitu.: -olu- 

1 '. Pol watch Till ii' 51 temptati I 

try, when ig our place, or our 

■., '• What snares attend mo hen 
And" as this should be our habitual care, so we should 
ird against tb which in the 

ling we foresaw. And when we are entering 
on those circun in which • 

. i reflect, especially if it be a matter of 
Ll importance, " Now the combat a 

I and the blessi 

::iv SOlll, 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 267 

and how far the divine authority, and the remem- 
brance of my own prayers and resolutions, will weigh 
with me when it comes to a trial." 

17. As for dependence on divine grace and influ- 
ence, it must be universal; and since we always 
need it, we must never forget that necessity. A mo- 
ment spent in humble fervent breathings after the 
communications of the divine assistance, may do 
more good than many minutes spent in mere rea- 
sonings ; and though indeed this should not be 
neglected, since the light of reason is a kind of divine 
illumination, yet still it ought to be pursued in a 
due sense of our dependence on the Father of Lights, 
or where we think ourselves wisest, we may "become 
vain in our imaginations," Rom. 1 : 21, 22. Let us 
therefore always call upon God, and say, for instance, 
when we are going to pray, " Lord, fix my attention ! 
Awaken my holy affections, and pour out upon me 
the spirit of grace and of supplication !" Zech. 12 : 
10. When taking up a Bible or any other good book, 
" Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous 
things out of thy law ! Psalm 119 : 18. Enlighteen 
my understanding ! Warm my heart ! May my good 
resolutions be confirmed, and all the course of my 
life be in a proper manner regulated !" When ad- 
dressing ourselves to any worldly business, " Lord, 
prosper thou the work of mine hands upon me, 
(Psalm 90 : 17,) and give thy blessing to my honest 
endeavois !" When going to any kind of recrea- 



DAILY DBT0T1 

Let mc not for- 

ning into i 

municatii 
that which is good to the 
use of to the 

upon diffi- 
iat wisdom 
able to direct!" Eccles. 10: I me thy 

way, and lead me in a plain pa ilm 27 11. 

. encountering sore temptations, '• Let thy 
strength, O gracious I 
my weakm - 

illustrate the design of this direction, though they 

iimeration of all the 
circumstances in which it is to be i 

ament of our thoughts lb 
tude: let QS accustom ourselves, on all 

exercifl :ommand over our thoughts. 

take care of those entanglements of passion, or those 
attachments to any present interest in view, which 
would deprive us of our power over them. Let us 
s«a before us some profitable subject of thought; 
inch as the] lofthebli [, the love of 

I . the value of time, the certainty and impor- 

of death and judgment, and the eternity of 
v which is to follow. 1 
i intervals, reflect on what ue ha 
served as lo ih< ouls, with i 



DAILY DEVOTIONS. 269 

to the advance or decline of religion ; or on the last 
sermon we have heard, or the last portion of Scrip- 
ture we have read. You may perhaps, in this con- 
nection. Sir, recollect what I have, if I remember 
right, proposed to you in conversation ; that it might 
be very useful to select some one verse of Scripture 
which we have met with in the morning, and to 
treasure it up in our mind, resolving to think of 
that at any time w T hen we are at a loss for matter of 
pious reflection, in any intervals of leisure for en- 
tering upon it. This will often be as a spring from 
whence many profitable and delightful thoughts 
may rise, which perhaps we did not before see in 
that connection and force. Or if it should not be so, 
yet I am persuaded it will be much better to repeat 
the same scripture in our mind a hundred times in 
a day, with some pious ejaculation formed upon it, 
than to leave our thoughts at the mercy of all those 
various trifles which may otherwise intrude upon 
us, the variety of which will be far from making 
amends for their vanity. 

19. Lastly, for the government of our discourse 
in company. We should take great care that no- 
thing may escape us which can expose us, or our 
Christian profession, to censure and reproach ; no- 
thing injurious to those that are absent, or those that 
are present ; nothing malignant, nothing insincere, 
nothing which may corrupt, nothing which may 
provoke, nothing which may mislead those about 
23* 



270 Ms.. Dl 

us. Nor should n ins be content that 

I we say is innocent : it should be our d< - 
that it ma oth< n In 

• 
of useful disc 

• for 
thought, undei R 

it opportui 

; and if a pious friend attempt to do it. 
should endeavor to second it immediately. W 
the conversation does not turn directly on religious 
subjects, we should endeavor to make it impro 
some other way ; we should reflect on the charac- 
ter and capacities of our company, that we may lead 
them to talk of what tip stand beat; fortheir 

discourses on those subjects will pro': most 

pleasant to th< fad to us. 

1 of discourse, it may not be improper 
to lift up a holy ejaculation to Clod, that his gi 
may assi>t us and our friends in our endeavors to 
do good to each other; that all I do inav 

worthy the character of r< creatures and 

of Christians. 

The directions for a religious Hosing of the 
I shall hen- mention, are only two: Let 
■ it, that the secret duties of the evenin 
well performed ; and let us lie down on our beds in 
a pioui frame. 

~1- Forth • -ret devotion in the evening, I would 



EVENING DEVOTIONS. 271 

propose a method something different from that in the 
morning ; but still, as then, with due allowances for 
circumstances which may make unthought-of altera- 
tions proper. I should advise to read a portion of 
Scripture in the first place, with suitable reflections 
and prayer, as above ; then to read a hymn, or psalm ; 
after this to enter on self-examination, to be followed 
by a longer prayer than that which followed read- 
ing, to be formed on this review of the day. In this 
address to the throne of grace, it will be highly pro- 
per to entreat that God would pardon the omissions 
and offences of the day ; to praise him for mercies 
temporal and spiritual; to recommend ourselves to 
his protection for the ensuing night ; with proper pe- 
titions for others, whom we ought to bear on our 
hearts before him ; and particularly for those friends 
with whom we have conversed or corresponded in 
the preceding day. Many other concerns will occur, 
both in morning and evening prayer, which I have 
not here hinted at ; but I did not apprehend that a 
full enumeration of these things belonged, by any 
means, to our present purpose. 

22. Before I quit this head I must take the liberty 
to remind you, that self-examination is so important 
a duty, that it will be worth our while to spend a few 
words upon it. And this branch of it is so easy, that, 
when we have proper questions before us, any per- 
son of a common understanding may hope to go 
through it with advantage, under a divine blessing. 



1 1 1 

you ther< l Inch I 

hope you will, with su f oq may 

•• 1 ». 1 
I awake as with God this mon with a 

grateful Mm re the secret 

devotions of the morni I 1 II offer my 

solemn praises, ami renew th- 
to G ittention and suitab! 

tions? Did I lay my scheme for th -> of the 

day wisely and well ? I low did I read the Scriptures, 
and any other devotional or practical piece which I 
afterwards found it convenient to review I Did it do 
my heart good, qr was it a mere amusement ? How 
have the other stated devotions of the day I 
tended, whether in the family or in public? Have I 
pursued the common business of the day with dili 

• and spirituality, doing every thing in - 
and with all convenient despatch, and as ' unto the 
Lord?' Col. 3 : 23. What time have I lost this 
in the morning, or the forenoon, in the afternoo 
the evening?" for these divisions will if 
recollection; "and what has occasioned the loss of it? 
With what temper, and under what regulations have 

the recreations of this day been punned .- Have I 
•i the hand of God in my mercies, health, cheer- 
fulness, food, clothing, books, preservation in jour- 
nits, sui i ess of business, convi rsation, and kindness 
of friends, vSi'-. ! Have I seen it in afflictions, and 
particularly in little things, which had a tendency 



EVENING DEVOTIONS. 273 

to vex and disquiet me ? Have I received my com- 
forts thankfully, and my afflictions submissively? 
How have I guarded against the temptations of the 
day, particularly against this or that temptation 
which I foresaw in the morning ? Have I maintained 
a dependence on divine influence ? Have I ' lived by 
faith on the Son of God,' (Gal. 2 : 20,) and regarded 
Christ this day as my teacher and governor, my atone- 
ment and intercessor, my example and guardian, my 
strength and forerunner? Have I been looking for- 
ward to death and eternity this day, and considered 
myself as a probationer for heaven, and, through 
grace, an expectant of it? Have I governed my 
thoughts well, especially in such or such an inter- 
val of solitude ? How was my subject of thought 
this day chosen, and how was it regarded ? Have 
I governed my discourses well, in such and such 
company ? Did I say nothing passionate, mischiev- 
ous, slanderous, imprudent, impertinent ? Has my 
heart this day been full of love to God, and to all 
mankind ? and have I sought, and found, and im- 
proved, opportunities of doing and of getting good ? 
With what attention and improvement have I read 
the Scripture this evening ? How was self-examina- 
tion performed the last night ? and how have I pro- 
fited this day by any remarks I then made on former 
negligences and mistakes ? With what temper did I 
then lie down, and compose myself to sleep?" 
23. You will easily see, Sir, that these questions 



'27 \ i:\tninu DKV0TI0N0. 

are so adjusted as to ridgment of the most 

material advice I hai in this letter: audi 

I not, to a person of your understand- 

ing, say any thing as to the usefulness of su 
quiries. Conscience will □ a few mi- 

nutes ; but if yOU think them too large and particu- 
lar, you may make still a she: r daily 

these, with such obvious ah 
as will then he necessary for i I more than 

ordinary exactness in review, which I hope will oc- 
cur at least once a-week. Secret devotion bein 
performed, before drowsiness renders us unfit for it, 
the interval between that and our going to rest must 
be conducted by the rules mentioned under the next 
head. And nothing will farther remain to be consider- 
ed here, but, 

24. The sentiments with which we should lie 
down and compose ourselves to sleep. N 
is obviously suitable to think of the divine go 
in adding another day, and the mercies of it, to the 
former days and mercies of our life; to take notice 
of the indulgence of Providence in giving Of 
modious habitations and easy beds, and continuing 
such health of body that we can lay ourselves 
down at ease upon them, and such serenity of mind 
as leaves us any room to hope for refreshing sleep; 
a refreshment to be sought, not merely as an indul- 
gence to animal nature, but as what our wis. 
tor, in order to keep us humble in the midst of so 



EVENING DEVOTIONS. 275 

many infirmities, has been pleased to make neces- 
sary to our being able to pursue his service with re- 
newed alacrity. Thus may our sleeping, as well as 
our waking hours, be in some sense devoted to God. 
And when we are just going to resign ourselves to 
the image of death, to what one of the ancients beau- 
tifully calls " its lesser mysteries," it is also evidently 
proper to think seriously of that end of all the living, 
and to renew those actings of repentance and faith 
which we should judge necessary if we were to wake 
no more here. You have once, Sir, seen a medita- 
tion of that kind in my hand : I will transcribe it for 
you in the postscript ; and therefore shall add no 
more to this head, but here put a close to the direc- 
tions you desired. 

25. lam persuaded the most important of them 
have, in one form or another, been long regarded by 
you, and made governing maxims of your life. I 
shall greatly rejoice if the review of these, and the 
examination and trial of the rest, may be the means 
of leading you into more intimate communion with 
God, and so of rendering your life more pleasant 
and useful, and your eternity, whenever that is to 
commence, more glorious. There is not a human 
creature upon earth whom I should not delight to 
serve in these important interests ; but I can faithful- 
ly assure you, that I am, with particular respect, 
Dear Sir, 
Your very affectionate friend and servant. 



ry few 
words, is the letter 1 n w< rthy friend (now, 

I doubt not with, God) abot; 
und I can assuredly say, that the experience c 
of these years has conliri;, 

hed me in the d, that one day thus 

spent : : sensuality, 

and thi of religion. I ch( 

letter as it is, because I thought t 
particularity of the advice I 1. in it would 

appear most natural in its original furm; at. 
propose to enforce these counsels in the next chapter, 
I shall conclude this with that meditation which I 
d my friend as a postscript, and which I 
could wish you to make so familiar to yourself, as 
that you may be able to recollect tiie substance of it 
whenever you compose yourself I 

A serious view of (. r to be taken as ice lie doicn on 

our 

"0 my soul! look forward a little with serious- 
ness and attention, and learn wisdom by the consi- 
deration of thy latter end, Deuf. 

is now numbered and finished ; and 
tit off my clothes, and laid nr 
.-pose of the nighl ; so will \h 
to its per 
i 



EVENING DEVOTIONS. 277 

dust. There let it rest ; for it will be no more re* 
garded by me than the clothes which I have now 
laid aside. I have another far more important con- 
cern to attend. Think, my soul ! when death 
comes, thou art to enter upon the eternal world, and 
to be fixed either in heaven or in hell. All the 
schemes and cares, the hopes and fears, the pleasures 
and sorrows of life, will come to their period, and 
the world of spirits will open upon thee. And oh ! 
how soon may it open ! Perhaps before the return- 
ing sun bring on the light of another day. To-mor- 
row's sun may not enlighten my eyes, but only 
shine round a ssnsel^ss corpse which may lie in 
the place of this animated body. At least the death 
of many in the flower of their age, and many who 
were superior to me in capacity, piety, and the pros- 
pects of usefulness, may loudly warn me not to de- 
pend on a long life, and engage me rather to won- 
der that I am continued here so many years, than 
to be surprised if I am speedily removed. 

" And now, O my soul ! answer as in the sight 
of God, Art thou ready 1 Art thou ready % Is there 
no sin unforsaken, and so unrepented of, to fill me 
with anguish in my departing moments, and to 
make me tremble on the brink of eternity 1 Dread 
to remain under the guilt of it, and this moment re- 
new thy most earnest applications to the mercy of 
God, and the blood of a Redeemer, for deliverance 
from it. 

24 R. &. Progress. 



278 | VI. NINO DFVOTIONS. 

" But if the L'reat account be already adjusted, if 
thou b f thy numerous of- 

if thou hast sineer aitted thyself, by 

faith, into >:. of the bit d hast 

not renounced thy covenant with him, by turning to 
the allowed practice of sin, tl 

Deration ; it is not in the power of 
to hurt a soul devoted to God, and united to 
the gi einer. It may take from ; 

worldly comforts, it may disconcert and break my 
schemes for service on earth ; but, O my soul, di- 
viner entertainments and nobler services ' wait thee 
beyond the grave !' For ever blessed be the name 
of God and the love of Jesus, for these quieting, en- 
couraging, joyful views! I will now lav me down 
in peace, and Bleep, (Psalm 1 : 8,) free from the fears 
of what shall be the issue of this night, whether life 
or death he appointed for me. Father, into thy 
hands I commend my spirit, (Luke, 23: 40.) for 
thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth ! (Psalm 
31 : 5,) and therefore I can cheerfully refer it to 
thy choice, whether I shall wake in this world or 
another." 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 279 



CHAPTER XX. 



A SERIOUS PERSUASIVE TO SUCH A METHOD OF SPENDING OUH 
DAYS AS IS REPRESENTED IN THE FORMER CHAPTER 

1, 2. Christians fix their viev;s too low, and indulge too indo- 
lent a disposition, which makes it more necessary to urge such 
a life as that under consideration. — 3. It is therefore en- 
forced, from its being apparently reasonable, considering 
ourselves as the creatures of God, and as redeemed by the 
blood of Christ. — 4. From its evident tendency to conduce 
to our comfort in life. — 5. From the influence it will have 
to promote our usefulness to others. — 6. From its efficacy to 
make afflictions lighter. — 7. From its happy aspect on death. 
— 8. And on eternity. — 9. Whereas not to desire improvement 
would argue a soul destitute of religion. A prayer suited to 
the state of a soul who longs to attain the life recommended 
above. 

1. I have been assigning, in the preceding chap- 
ter, what, I fear, will seem to some of my readers so 
hard a task, that they will want courage to attempt it ; 
and indeed it is a life in many respects so far above that 
of the generality of Christians, that I am not without 
apprehensions that many, who deserve the name. 
may think the directions, after all the precaution's 
with which I have proposed them, are carried to an 
unnecessary degree of nicety and strictness. But I 
am persuaded, much of the credit and comfort ot 
Christianity is lost, in consequence of its professors 



■rn»S V' OOD !T.i 

fixing low, and not conceiving of 

their I and su- 

bline ion would 

and the word i ould direct. I am fully con- 

vinced, that tli ris of '• walking with God," 

of "being in t] the Ijord all the day Ion 

(Prow 23 : 17,) and, above all, that ol . the 

Lord our God with all our heart, and t 
mind, and strength," (Mark, 12: 30,) i 
if not all these circumstances, yet the substance of 
all that I have been recommending, so I 
have capacity, leisure, and opportunity : and I can 
not but think that many might command more of 
the latter, and perhaps improve their capacities too, 
if they would take a due care in the government of 
themselves; if they would give up vain and unne- 
cessary diversions, and certain indulgences, which 
only suit to delight the lower part of our na1 
and, to say the best of them, deprive us of pleas 
much better than themselves, if they do not plunge 
us into guilt. Many of these rules would appear 
easily practicable, if men would learn to know the 
value of time, and particularly to redeem it from 
unnecessary sleep, which wastes many golden hours 
of the day: hours in which man servants 

are delighting themselves in him, and drinking in 
full draughts of the water of lite: while these their 
brethren are slumbering upon their beds, and lost in 
vain dreams, as far below the common entertain- 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 281 

ments of a rational creature as the pleasures of the 
sublimest devotion are above them. 

2. I know likewise, that the mind is very fickle 
and inconstant, and that it is a hard thing to pre 
serve such a government and authority over our 
thoughts as would be very desirable, and as the 
plan I have laid down will require. But so much 
of the honor of God, and so much of our true hap- 
piness depends upon it, that I beg you will give me 
a patient and attentive hearing while I am pleading 
with you, and that you will seriously examine the 
arguments, and then judge, whether a care and con- 
duct like that which I have advised be not in itself 
reasonable, and whether it will not be highly con- 
ducive to your comfort and usefulness in life, your 
peace in death, and the advancement and increase of 
your eternal glory. 

3. Let conscience say, whether such a life as I 
have described above be not in itself highly reason- 
able. Look over the substance of it again, and 
bring it under a close examination ; for I am very 
apprehensive that some weak objections may rise 
against the whole, which may in their consequence 
affect particulars, against which no reasonable man 
would presume to make any objection at all. Re- 
collect, O Christian ! carry it with you in your 
memory and your heart, while you are pursuing 
this review, that you are the creature of God ; that 
you are purchased with the blood of Jesus ; and 

24* 



in which you 
pplication ami 

-. i,i •}• 1 v .Sup] 

the counsels I ha 

suppose every da md concluded with such 

devout breathings afti uch holv retire- 

foi morni ith him 

and with your own heart; sup; 
contriving how your time may be i and in 

reflecting- how it has been employed; suppo- 
regard to God, this sense of his presence, an 
for his glory, to run through your acts of worship, 
your hours of business and recreation ; supp^ 
attention to Providence, this guard tempta- 

tion, this dependence upon divine influence, this 
government of the thoughts in solitude, and of the 
discourse in company; nay. I will add farth- 
pose every particular direction given to be pui 
excepting when particular cases occur, with r 
to which you shall be able in c 
wave it not from indolence and carelessness, but be- 
cause I think it will be just now more pleas 
God to be doing sornethin \ Inch may often 

happen in human life, wh are best 

concerted: suppose, 1 say, all this to be done, not 
for a day or a week, but through the remainder ol 

hether longer or shorter ; and suppose this to 

d at the close of life, in the full exercise 

of your rational faculties; will there be reason to 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 283 

eay in the reflection, " I have taken too much pains 
m religion : the Author of my being did not deserve 
all this from me ; less diligence, less fidelity, less 
zeal than this, might have been an equivalent for 
the blood which was shed for my redemption- A 
part of my heart, a part of my time, apart of my la- 
bors, might have sufficed for him, who hath given 
me all my powers : for him who hath delivered me 
from that destruction which would have made them 
my everlasting torment; for him who is raising me 
to the regions of a blissful immortality." Can you 
with any face cay this ? If you cannot, then sure- 
ly your conscience bears witness, that all I have 
recommended, under the limitations above, is rea- 
sonable ; that duty and gratitude require it: and 
consequently, that, by every allowed failure in it, 
you bring guilt upon your own soul, you offend 
God, and act unworthy of your Christian profession. 
4. I entreat you farther to consider whether such 
a conduct as I have now been recommending, 
would not conduce much to your comfort and use- 
fulness in life. Reflect seriously what is true hap- 
piness ! Does it consist in distance from God, or in 
nearness to him % Surely you cannot be a Chris- 
tian, surely you cannot be a rational man, if you 
doubt whether communion with the great Father 
of our spirits be a pleasure and felicity ; and if 
it be, then surely they enjoy most of it who keep 
him most constantly in view. You cannot but know, 



284 DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 

in your own conscience, that it is this which makes 
the bapp.ness of heaven; and therefore the more of 
it anv nui.i enjoys upon earth, the more of heaven 
come: down into his soul. If yon have made any 
trial of religion, though it be but a few months or 
came acquainted with it, you 
inns- judge, from your own experience, 

ih have been the most pleasant days of your 
life. Have they not been those in which you have 
acted most upon these principles? those in which 
you have most steadily and resolutely carried them 
through every hour of time, and every circumstance 
of life ? The check which you must, in many in- 
stances, give to your own inclinations, might seem 
disagreeable ; but it would surely be overbalanced, 
in a most happy manner, by the satisfaction you 
would find in a consciousness of self-government j 
in having such a command of your thoughts, affec- 
tions, and actions, as is much more glorious than 
any authority over others can be. 

5. I would also entreat you to consider the influ- 
ence which such a conduct as this might have upon 
the happiness of others. And it is easy to be seen 
that it must be very great ; as you would find youi 
hi art always disposed to watch every opportunity of 
doing L r oo,|, and to seize it with eagerness and de- 
light. It would engage you to make it the study and 
of your life, to order things in such a man 
tbat the aid of one kind and useful action mighi 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 285 

be the beginning of another ; in which you would go 
on as naturally as the inferior animals do in those 
productions and actions by which mankind are reliev- 
ed or enriched: or as the earth bears her successive 
crops of different vegetable supplies. And though 
mankind be, in this corrupt state, so unhappily in- 
clined to imitate evil examples rather than good, yet 
it may be expected, that while " your light shines 
before men," some, " seeing your good works,' 1 will 
endeavor to transcribe them in their own lives, and 
so to "glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
Matt. 5:16. The charm of such beautiful models 
would surely impress some, and incline them at least 
to attempt an imitation : and every attempt would 
dispose to another. And thus, through the divine 
goodness, you might be entitled to a share in the 
praise, and the reward, not only of the good you 
had immediately done yourself, but likewise of that 
which you had engaged others to do. And no eye, 
but that of the all-searching God, can see into what 
distant times or places the blessed consequences 
may reach. In every instance in which these con- 
sequences appear, it will put a generous and sublime 
joy into your heart which no worldly prosperity 
could afford, and which would be the liveliest em- 
blem of that high delight which the blessed God feels 
in seeing and making his creatures happy. 

6. It is true indeed, that amidst all these pious and 
benevolent cares, afflictions may come, and in soms 



DirOTIOM TO OOD T-RGED. 

meal rupt you in the midst of your project- 

ed M I afflictions will be 

. when your heart is gladdened with 
the peaci fuJ and joyful r< of your own mind. 

and with so ho icuce be- 

fore God and man. Delightful will it be to go back to 
scenes In your pleasing review, and tu think that 
you have not only been sincerely humbling yourself 
lor those past offences which afflictions may bring to 
your remembrance; but that you have given sub- 
stantial proofs of the sincerity of that humiliation, by 
a real reformation of what has been amiss, and by 
acting with strenuous and vigorous resolution on 
the contrary principle. And while converse with 
God, and doing good to men, are made the great 
business and pleasure of life, you will find a thou- 
sand opportunities of enjoyment, even in the midst of 
these afflictions, which would render you so inca- 
pable of relishing the pleasures of sense, that the 
very mention of them might, in those eircumstar. 
seem an insult and a reproach. 

7. At length death will come, that solemn and im- 
portant hour, which has been passed through by so 
many thousands who have in the main lived such a 
Life, and by so many millions who have neglected it. 
And let . say, if there was ever one of all 

these millions who had any reason to rejoice in that 
neglect ; or any one, among the most strict and ex- 
emplary ( Jhristians, who then lamented that his heart 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 287 

and life had been too zealously devoted to God. Let 
conscience say, whether they have wished to have 
a part of that time, which they have thus employed, 
given back to them again, that they might be more 
conformed to this world; that they might plunge 
themselves deeper into its amusements, or pursue its 
honors, its possessions, or its pleasures, with greater 
eagerness than they had done. If you were yourself 
dying, and a dear friend or child stood near you, -nd 
this book and the preceding chapter should chance 
to come into your thoughts, would you caution that 
friend or child against conducting himself by such 
rules as I have advanced ? The question may per- 
haps seem unnecessary, where the answer is so plain 
and certain. Well, then, let me beseech you to learn 
how you should live, by reflecting how you would 
die, and what course you would wish to look back 
upon, when you are just quitting this world and en- 
tering upon another. Think seriously ; what if deatn 
should surprise you on a sudden, and you should be 
called into eternity at an hour's or a minute's warn- 
ing, would you not wish that your last dajr should 
have been thus begun ; and the course of it, if it were 
a day of health and activity, should have been thus 
managed? Would you not wish that your Lord 
should find you engaged in such thoughts and such 
pursuits? Would not the passage, the flight from 
earth to heaven, be most easy, most pleasant, in this 
view and connection? And, on the other hand, if 



DBT0T10M P r.ED. 

-did 
.. doable, 

■ I 
ier than it would others Vou 

would DOt 

forbi " im- 

rould, no doubt, desire to throw 
'lirist, that 
id, "adorned with his right and 

bed from your~sins in his blood. ; ' Y< a would 
also, with your dying- breath, ascribe to the rich- 
his grace every good disposition you had found in 
your heart, and every worthy action you had been 
enabled to perform. But would it not g 
light, worthy of being purchased with ten thousand 
worlds, to reflect that his " grac vou, 

had not been in Tain," (1 Cor. 15 : 10.) but that you 
had, from a humble principle of grateful 1<>\ 
(ted your heavenly Father on earth, and, in som 
. though not with the perfection you could d< 
tished the tich he had 

(John, 17 : 4.) that you iany 

past year's as on the borders o[ heaven, ai 
wring to form your heart and life to the ti 
f its inhabitants \ 

more, let n.e entreat 
the view you will have of this matteT when 
come into :i world of glory, if (v hich I hoj 
die 1 vine mercy conduc 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 289 

Will not your reception there be affected by your 
care, or negligence, in this holy course ? Will it ap- 
pear an indifferent thing in the eye of the blessed 
Jesus, who distributes the crowns, and allots the 
thrones there, whether you have been among the 
most zealous, or the most indolent of his servants'? 
Surely you must wish to have "an entrance admi- 
nistered unto you abundantly into the kingdom of 
your Lord and Savior," (2 Pet. 1 : 11,) and what can 
more certainly conduce to it, than to be " always 
abounding in this work?" I Cor. 15 : 58. You can- 
not think so meanly of that glorious state, as to ima- 
gine that you shall there look round about with a 
secret disappointment, and say in your heart that 
you over- valued the inheritance you have received, 
and pursued it with too much earnestness. You will 
not surely complain that it had too many of your 
thoughts and cares ; but, on the contrary, you have 
the highest reason to believe, that, if any thing were 
capable of exciting your indignation and your grief 
there, it would be, that, amidst so many motives and 
so many advantages, you exerted yourself no more 
in the prosecution of such a prize. 

9. But I will not enlarge on so clear a case, and 
therefore conclude the chapter with reminding you, 
that to allow yourself deliberately to sit down satis- 
fied with any imperfect attainments in religion, and 
to look upon a more confirmed and improved state 
of it as what you do not desire, nay, as what you 

25 R. & Progress, 



290 Dr.VOTION jo GOD URGED 

sincerely resolve that you will not pursue, is one ut 
the most fatal ugi)i we can well imagine, that you 
arc an entire stranger to the lirst principles of it. 

A Prayer suited I V of a Soul ir\o desires toe 

■ l ■■ miffrf 

" Blessed God ! I cannot contradict the force of 
these reasonings : that 1 may feel more than 
the lasting effects of them ! Thou art the great foun- 
tain of being and of happiness ; and as from thee my 
being was derived, so from thee my happiness di- 
rectly flows; and the nearer I am to thee, the purer 
and more delicious is the stream. ' With thee is the 
fountain of life ; in thy light may I see light !' Psal. 
3G : 9. The great object of my final hope is to dwell 
for ever with thee. Give me now some foretaste of 
that delight ! Give me, I beseech thee, to experience 
'the blessedness of that man who feareth the Lord, 
and who delighteth greatly in his commandments,' 
(Psal. 112: 1,) and so form my heart by thy grace, 
that I may 'be in the fear of the Lord all the day 
long.' Prov. 23 : 17. 

" To thee may my awakening thoughts be di- 
rected : and with the first ray of light that visits my 
opening eyes, ' lift up, O Lord, the light of thy coun- 
tenance upon me!' Psal. 4 : 6. When my faculties 
are roused from that broken state in which they lay, 
while buried, and, as it were, annihilated in sleepi 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 291 

may my first actions be consecrated to thee, O God, 
who givest me light; who givest me, as it were, 
every morning a new life and a new reason ! Enable 
my heart to pour out itself before thee with a filial 
reverence, freedom, and endearment 1 And may I 
hearken to God, as I desire that he should hearken 
unto me ! May thy word be read with attention and 
pleasure ! May my soul be delivered into the mold 
of it, and may I ' hide it in my heart, that I may not 
sin against thee !' Psal. 1 19 : 11. Animated by the 
great motives there suggested, may I every morning 
be renewing the dedication of myself to thee, through 
Jesus Christ thy beloved Son ; and be deriving from 
him new supplies of that blessed Spirit of thine, 
whose influences are the life of my soul. 

11 And being thus prepared, do thou, Lord, lead 
me forth by the hand to all the duties and events of 
the day ! In that calling, wherein thou hast been 
pleased to call me, may I abide with thee, (1 Cor. 
7 : 20,) not ■ being slothful in business,' but ' fervent 
in spirit, serving the Lord!' Rom. 12 : 11. May I 
know the value of time, and always improve it to 
the best advantage, m such duties as thou hast as- 
signed me, how low soever they may seem, or how 
painful soever they may be ! To thy glory, Lord, 
may the labors of life be pursued ; and to thy glory 
may the refreshments of it be sought ! ' Whether I 
eat, or drink, or whatever I do,' (1 Cor. 10 : 31,) 
may that end still be kept in view, and may it be at- 



DEVOTION TO COD URGED. 

lained ! An 1 may every refreshment, and release 
from business, prepare* me to serve theo with greater 
vigor and resolution ! 

" .May my eye be watchful to observe the descent 
of mercies from thee; and may a grateful sense of 
thy hand in them add a savor and relish to all! 
And when afflictions come, which in a world like 
this I would accustom myself to expect, may I re- 
member that they come from thee; and may that 
fully reconcile me to them, while I firmly believe 
that the same love which gives us our daily bread, 
appoints us our daily crosses; which I would learn 
to take up, that I may follow my dear Lord, (Mark, 
8 : 34,) with a temper like that which he manifested 
when ascending Calvary for my sake: saying, like 
him, ' The cup which my Father hath given me, shall 
I not drink it?' John, 18 : 11. And when I 'enter 
into temptation,' do thou, Lord, 'deliver me from 
evil.' Matt. 6:13. Make me sensible, I entreat thee, 
of my own weakness, that my heart may be raised 
to thee for present communications of proportionable 
strength. When I am engaged in the society of 
others, may it be my desire and my care that I may 
do and receive as much good as possible; and may 
I continually answer the great purposes of life, by 
honoring thee, and diffusing useful knowledge and 
happiness to the world. And when I am alone, mav 
I remember my ■ heavenly Father is with me;' and 
may I enjoy the pleasure of thy presence and fee) 



DEVOTION TO GOD URGED. 293 

the animating power of it awakening my soul to an 
earnest desire to think and act as in thy sight! 

11 Thus let my days be spent ; and let them always 
be closed in thy fear, and under a sense of thy gra- 
cious presence. Meet me, O Lord, in my evening 
retirements. May I choose the most proper time for 
them ; may I diligently attend to reading and prayer ; 
and when I review my conduct, may I do it with 
an impartial eye. Let not self-love spread a false 
coloring over it ; but may I judge myself, as one that 
expects to be judged of the Lord, and is very solicit- 
ous he may be approved by thee, who * searchest 
all hearts,' and ' canst not forget any of my works.' 
Amos, 8:7.' Let my prayer come before thee as 
incense,' and * let the lifting up of my hands be as 
the morning and the evening sacrifice.' Psal. 141 : 
2. May I resign my powers to sleep in sweet calm- 
ness and serenity ; conscious that I have lived to God 
in the day, and cheerfully persuaded that I am ' ac- 
cepted of thee in Christ Jesus my Lord,' and humbly 
1 hoping in thy mercy through him,' whether my 
days on earth be prolonged, or ' the residue of them 
be cut off in the midst.' Isaiah, 37 : 10. If death 
comes by a leisurely advance, may it find me thus 
employed ; and if I am called on a sudden to ex- 
change worlds, may my last days and hours be found 
to have been conducted by such maxims as these ; 
that I may have a sweet and easy passage from the 
services of time to the infinitely nobler services of an 
25* 



204 TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 

immortal state. I ask it through him, who, while on 
earth, was the fairest pattern and example of every 
virtue and grace, and who now lives and reigns with 
thee, ' able to save unto the uttermost:' (Heb. 7 
to him, having done all, I would fly, with humble 
acknowledgment that I am an ' unprofitable ser- 
vant: 1 (Luke, 17 : 1U,) 'to him be glory forever and 
♦•ver.' Amen " 



CHAPTER XXI. 



A CAUTION AOAIN8T VARI0C8 TEMPTATIONS, BY WHICH THE 
YOUNG CONVERT MAY BE DRAWN ASIDE FROM THE COURSE 
RECOMMENDED ABOVE. 

I, Dangers continue, after the first difficulties {considered 
Chap, xvi.) are broken through. — 2. Particular cautions — 
against a sluggish and indolent temper. — 3. Again* the ex- 
cessive love of sensitive pleasure. — 1. L> admg to a neglect oj 
business and needless expense. — 5. .i Mm of evil 

company. — G. Against excessive hurry of worldly busiruss. 
— 7. Which is tn forced by the fatal consrquences these have 
had in many cases. — 8. The chapter concludes with an ex- 
hortation to die to this world, and to live to another. And 
1 .invert's prayer for Divine prelection against the 
dangers arising from these snares. 

1. Tiik representation I have been making of the 
pleasure and advantage of a life spent in devotedness 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 295 

to God and communion with him, as I have describ- 
ed it above, will, I hope, engage you, my dear read- 
er, to form some purposes, and make some attempt 
to obtain it. But from considering the nature, and 
observing the course of things, it appears exceed- 
ingly evident, that, besides the general opposition 
which I formerly mentioned as like to attend you 
in your first entrance on a religious life, you will find 
even that, after you have resolutely broke through 
this, a variety of hinderances in any attempts of 
exemplary piety, and in the prosecution of a re- 
markably strict and edifying course, will present 
themselves daily in your path ; and whereas you 
may, by a few resolute efforts, baffle some of the for- 
mer sort of enemies, these will be perpetually renew- 
ing their onsets, and a vigorous struggle must be 
continually maintained with them. Give me leave 
now, therefore, to be particular in my cautions 
against some of the chief of them. And here I 
would insist upon the difficulties which will arise 
from indolence and the love of pleasure ; from vain 
company, and worldly cares. Each of these may 
prove ensnaring to any, and especially to young per- 
sons, to whom I would now have some particular 
regard. 

2. I entreat you, therefore, in the first place, that 
you will guard against a sluggish and indolent 
temper. The love of ease insinuates itself into the 
heart under a variety of plausible pretences, which 



296 TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 

are often allowed to pass, when temptations of a 
grosser nature would not be admitted. The mis- 
■pending a little time seems to wise and good men 
but a small matter: yet this sometimes runs them 
into great incon leniencies. It often leads them to 
break in upon the seasons regularly allotted to devo- 
tion, and to defer business which might immediately 
be done, but being put off from day to day, is not 
done at all, and thereby the services of life are at 
least diminished, and the rewards of eternity dimi- 
nished proportionably : not to insist upon it, that wry 
frequently this lays the soul open to farther tempta- 
tions, by which it falls, in consequence of being found 
unemployed. Be therefore suspicious of the first 
approaches of this kind. Remember that the soul of 
man is an active being, and that it must find its plea- 
sure in activity. ''Gird up," therefoie, "the loins of 
your mind." 1 Peter, 1 : 13. Endeavor to keep 
yourself always well employed. Be exact, if I may 
with humble reverence use the expression, in your 
appointments with God. Meet him early in the 
morning; and say not with the sluggard, when the 
proper hour of rising is come, "A little more sleep, 
a little more slumber." Prov. 6 : 10. That time 
which prudence shall advise you, give to conversation 
and to other recreations. But when that is elapsed, 
and no unforeseen and important engagement pre- 
vents, rise and begone. Quit the company of your 
dearest friends, and retire to your proper busi- 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 297 

ness, whether it be in the field, the shop, or the 
closet. For by acting contrary to the secret dictates 
of your mind as to what it is just at the present mo- 
ment best to do, though it be but in the manner of 
spending half an hour, some degree of guilt is con- 
tracted, and a habit is cherished, which may draw af- 
ter it much worse consequences. Consider, therefore, 
what duties are to be despatched, and in what sea- 
sons. Form your plan as prudently as you can, and 
pursue it resolutely ; unless an unexpected incident 
arises, which leads you to conclude that duty calls 
you another way. Allowances for such unthought- 
of interruptions must be made ; but if, in consequence 
of this, you are obliged to omit any thing of impor- 
tance which you proposed to have done to-day, do it 
if possible to-morrow- and do not cut yourself out 
new work, till the former plan be despatched ; un- 
less you really judge it, not merely more amusing, 
but more important. And always remember, that a 
servant of Christ should see to it, that he determine 
on these occasions as in his Master's presence. 

3. Guard also against an excessive love of sensi- 
tive and animal pleasure, as that which will be a great 
hinderance to you in that religious course which 
I have now been urging. You cannot but know 
that Christ has told us, "that a man must deny 
himself, and take up his cross daily," (Luke, 9 : 
23,) if he desire to become his disciple. Christ, the 
Son of God, " the former and the heir of all things, 



298 TEMPTATIONS TO DE RESISTBD. 

pleased not himself," (Rom. 15 : 3,) but submitted 
to want, to difficulties, and hardships, in the way of 
duty, and some of them of the extremes! kind and 
degree, for the glory of God and the salvation of 
men. In this way ire are to follow him; and as 
We know not how soon we may be called, even to 
"resist unto blood, striving against sin,"' (Heb. 12 
4,) it is certainly best to accustom ourselves to that 
discipline which we may possibly be called c; 
exercise, even in such rigorous heights. A soft 
delicate life will give force to temptations, which 
might easily be subdued by one who has habituated 
himself to " endure hardships as a good soldier of 
Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. 2 : 3. It also produces an 
attachment to this world, and an unwillingness to 
leave it, which ill becomes those who are strangers 
and pilgrims on earth, and who expect so so^ 
be called away to that better country which they 
" profess to seek." Heb. 11: 13, 16. Add to this, 
that, what the world calls a life of pleasure, is ne- 
cessarily a life of expense too, and may perhaps 
lead you, as it has many others, and especially 
many who have been setting out in the world, be- 
yond the limits which Providence has assigned; 
and so, after a course of indulgence, may produce a 
proportionable want. And while in other cases it 
is true that pity should be shown to the poor, this 
is a poverty that is justly contemptible, because it 
is the effect of a man's own folly ; and when your 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 299 

"want thus comes upon you as an armed man," 
(Prov. 6: 11,) you will not only find yourself strip- 
ped of the capacity you might otherwise have secured 
for performing- those works of charity which are so 
ornamental to a Christian profession, but probably 
will be under strong temptations to some low artifice 
or mean compliance, quite beneath the Christian 
character and that of an upright man. Many, who 
once made a high profession, after a series of such 
sorry and scandalous shifts, have fallen into the in- 
famy of the worst kind of bankrupts; I mean such 
as have lavished away on themselves w r hat was in- 
deed the property of others, and so have injured, and 
perhaps ruined, the industrious, to feed a foolish, 
luxurious, or ostentatious humor, which, while in- 
dulged, was the shame of their own families, and 
when it can be indulged no longer, is their torment. 
This will be a terrible reproach to religion : such a 
reproach to it, that a good man would rather choose 
to live on bread and water, or indeed to die for want 
of them, than to occasion it. 

4. Guard, therefore, I beseech you, against any 
thing which might tend that w r ay, especially by dili- 
gence in business, and by prudence and frugality in 
expense, which, by the Divine blessing, may have a 
very happy influence to make your affairs prosper- 
ous, your health vigorous, and your mind easy, 
But this cannot be attained without keeping a reso- 
lute watch over yourself, and strenuously, refusing 



300 TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED 

to comply with many proposals which indolence or 
sensuality will offer in very plausible forms, and for 
which it will plead, "that it asks but very lit' 
Take heed, lest in thii you imitate those 

fond parents, who, by indulging their children in 
every little thing they have a mind to, encourage 
them, by insensible to grow still mor» 

croaching and imperious in their demands; as if 
they chose to be ruined with them, rather than to 
check them in what seems a trifle. Remember, and 
consider that excellent remark, sealed by the ruin of 
so many thousands : " He that despiseth 3mall things, 
shall fall by little and little." 

5. In this view, give me leave also seriously and 
tenderly to caution you, my dear reader, against the 
snares of vain company. I speak not, as before, of 
that company which is openly licentious and profane 
I hope there is something now in your temper and 
views, which would engage you to turn away from 
such with detestation and horror. But I beseech 
you to consider, that those companions may be very 
dangerous, who might at first give you but very 
little alarm : I mean those who, though not the de- 
clared enemies of religion, and professed followers 
of vice and disorder, yet nevertheless have no practi- 
cal sense of divine things on their hearts, so far as 
can be judged by their conversation and behavior. 
You must often of necessity be with such persons; 
and Christianity not only allows, but requires, that 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 301 

you should, on all expedient occasions of intercourse 
with them, treat them with civility and respect ; but 
choose not such for your most intimate friends, and 
do not contrive to spend most of your leisure mo- 
ments among them. For such converse has a sen- 
sible tendency to alienate the soul from God, and to 
render it unfit for all spiritual communion with him. 
To convince you of this, do but reflect on your own 
experience, when you have been for many hours 
together among persons of such a character. Do 
you not find yourself more indisposed for devotional 
exercises 1 Do you not find your heart, by insensible 
degrees, more and more inclined to a conformity to 
this world, and to look with a secret disrelish on those 
objects and employments to which reason directs as 
the noblest and best ? Observe the first symptoms, 
and guard against the snare in time : and for this 
purpose, endeavor to form friendships founded in 
piety, and supported by it. " Be a companion of them 
that fear God, and of them that keep his precepts." 
Psalm 1 19 : 63. You well know, that in the sight 
of God "they are the excellent of the earth;" let 
them therefore "be all your delight." Psalm 16 : 3. 
And that the peculiar benefit of their friendship may 
not be lost, endeavor to make the best of the hours 
you spend with them. The wisest of men has observ 
ed that when " counsel in the heart of a man is like 
deep waters," that is, when it lies low and concealed, 
• a man of understanding will draw it out." Pro v. 20 : 

2Q R. & Progress. 



5. Endeavor, then : 
as you 

irn. And when 

in your pre- 

lay hold of them, and cti em ; and for 

thai purpo* . • 11 richly in 

you," (Col. 3: 1.) and be continually made "the 

man of your counsel. 

6. If it he so, it will secure you nut only from the 
ss and luxury, but from ti. 
of every bad example. And it will also i 
to guard against those excessive hurries of worldly 
business, which would fill up all your tin 
thoughts, and thereby " choke the good word " of 
God, and render it in a great measure, if not quite, 
unfruitful. Matt. 13 : 22. Young people are gene- 
rally of an enterprising disposition : having ex- 
perienced comparatively little of the fatigue of busi- 
ness, and of the disappointments and incumbrances 
of life, they easily swallow them up and annihilate 
them in their imagination, and fancy that their spirit, 
their application, and address, will be able to en- 
counter and surmount every obstacle or hinderance. 
lint the event proves it othenv- . Let me entreat 
you, therefore, to be cautious how you plunge your- 
self into a greater variety of business than you are 
capable of managing as you ought, that is, in con- 
sistency with the care of your soul and the service 
of (Jod, which certainly ought not on any pretence to 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 303 

be neglected. It is true indeed, that a prudent regard 
to your worldly interest would require such a cau- 
tion ; as it is obvious to every careful observer, that 
multitudes are undone by grasping at more than 
they can conveniently manage. Hence it has fre- 
quently been seen, that, while they have seemed re- 
solved to be rich, they have "pierced themselves 
through with many sorrows," (1 Tim. 6 : 10,) have 
ruined their own families, and drawn down many 
others into desolation with them. Whereas, could 
they have been contented with moderate employ- 
ments and moderate gains, they might have pros- 
pered in their business, and might, by sure degrees, 
under a divine blessing, have advanced to great and 
honorable increase. But if there were no danger at 
all to be apprehended on this head, if you were as 
certam of becoming rich and great, as you are of 
perplexing and fatiguing yourself in the attempt, 
consider, I beseech you, how precarious these en- 
joyments are. Consider how often " a plentiful table 
becomes a snare, and that which should have been 
for a man's welfare, becomes a trap." Psalm 69 : 
22. Forget not that short lesson, which is so com- 
prehensive of the highest wisdom : " One thing is 
needful." Luke, 10 : 42. Be daily thinking, while 
the gay and the great things of life are glittering 
before your eyes, how soon death will come, and 
impoverish you at once : how soon it will strip you 
of all possessions but those which a naked soul 



304 TEMPTATION! TO HE RESISTED. 

can carry along with it into eternity, when it drope 
the body into the grave. Eti. unity ! Eternity ! 
Eternity ! Carry the view of it about with you, 
if it be possible, through every hour of waking life; 
and be fully persuaded that you have no business, 
no interest in life, that is inconsistent with it ; for 
whatsoever would be injurious in view of eternity, 
is not your business, is not your interest. You see 
indeed, that the generality of men act as if they 
thought the great thing which God requires of thein, 
in order to secure his favor, was to get as much of 
the world as possible : at least as much as they can 
without any gross immorality, and without risking 
the loss of all. Such persons may tell others, anu 
perhaps flatter themselves, that they only seek op- 
portunities of greater usefulness. But in effect, if 
they mean any thing more by this than a ccpacity 
of usefulness, which, when they have it, they will not 
exert, they generally deceive themselves ; and, one 
way or another, it is a vain pretence. In most in- 
stances men seek the world — either that they may 
hoard up riches for the mean and scandalous satis- 
faction of looking upon them while they are living, 
and of thinking, that, when they are dead, it will be 
Mud of them that they have left so many hundreds 
or thousands of pounds behind them ; very probably, 
to ensnare their children, or their heirs, (for the va- 
nity is not peculiar to those who have children of 
their own,)- -or else that they may lavish away their 



TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 305 

riches on their lusts, and drown themselves in a 
gulf of sensuality, in which, if reason be not lost, re- 
ligion is soon swallowed up, and with it all the no- 
blest pleasures which can enter into the heart of man. 
In this view, the generality of rich people appear to 
me objects of much greater compassion than the 
poor : especially as, when both live (which is fre- 
quently the case) without any fear of God before 
their eyes, the rich abuse the greater variety and 
abundance of their favors, and therefore will pro- 
bably feel, in that world of future ruin which awaits 
impenitent sinners, a more exquisite sense of their 
misery. 

7. And let me observe to you, my dear reader, 
lest you should think yourself secure from any such 
danger, that we have great reason to apprehend 
there are many now in a very wretched state, who 
once thought seriously of religion, when they were 
first setting out, in lower circumstances of life ; but 
they have since forsaken God for Mammon, and 
are now priding themselves in those golden chains, 
which, in all probability, before it be long, will 
leave them to remain in those of darkness. When, 
therefore, an attachment to the world may be fol- 
lowed with such fatal consequences, "let not thine 
heart envy sinners," (Prov. 23 :' 17,) and do not, out 
of a desire of gaining what they have, be guilty of 
such folly as to expose yourself to this double danger 
of failing in the attempt, or of being undone by the 
26* 



306 TEMPTATIONS TO BE RESISTED. 

success of it. Contract your desires ; endeavor to 
y and content with a little : and if Providence 
call you out to act in a larger sphere, submit to it in 
obedience to Providence, but number it among the 
trials of life, which it will require a larger propor- 
tion of grace to bear well. For be assured, that* as 
affairs and interests multiply, cares and duties will 
certainly increase, and probably disappointments and 
sorrows will increase in an equal proportion. 

8. On the whole, learn, by divine grace, to die to 
the present world ; to look upon it as a low state of 
being, which God never intended for the final and 
complete happiness, or the supreme care of any one 
of his children: a world, where something is indeed 
to be enjoyed, but chiefly from himself; where a 
great deal is to be borne with patience and resigna- 
tion ; and where some important duties are to be per- 
formed, and a course of discipline to be passed 
through, by which you are to be formed for a better 
state, to which, as a Christian, you are near, and to 
which God will call you, perhaps on a sudden, but 
undoubtedly, if you hold on your way, in the fittest 
time and the most convenient manner. Refer, there- 
fore, all this to him. Let your hopes and fears, your 
expectations and desires, with regard to this world, 
be kept as low as possible; and all your thoughts 
be united, as much as may be, in this one centre; 
what is it that God would, in present circumstances, 
have you to be : and what is that method of con- 



PRAYER AGAINST TEMPTATION. 307 

duct by which you may most effectually please and 
glorify him. 

The Young Convert's Prayer for Divine Protection against 
the Danger of these Snares. 

" Blessed God ! In the midst of ten thousand 
snares and dangers, which surround me from with- 
out and from within, permit me to look up unto thee 
with my humble entreaty, that thou wouldst ' deliver 
me from them that rise up against me,' (Psalm 59 : 
1,) and that 'thine eyes may be upon me for good.' 
Jer. 24 : 6. When sloth and indolence are ready to 
seize me, awaken me from that idle dream, with live- 
ly and affectionate views of that invisible and eter- 
nal world to which I am tending ! Remind me of 
what infinite importance it is, that I diligently im- 
prove those transient moments which thou hast allot- 
ted me as the time of my preparation for it. 

" When sinners entice me, may I not consent ! 
Prov. 1:10. May holy converse with God give 
me a disrelish for the converse of those who are 
strangers to thee, and who would separate my soul 
from thee ! May I ' honor them that fear the Lord,' 
(Psalm 15 : 4,) and walking with such wise and 
holy men, may I find I am daily advancing in wis- 
dom and holiness ! Prov. 13 : 20. Quicken me, O 
Lord ! by their means ; that by me thou mayest also 
quicken others ! Make me the happy instrument of 
enkindling and animating the flame of divine love 



308 TRAYER AGAINST TIMPTATXOV. 

In their breasts: and ma h from heart to 

heart, and grow every moment in its progress! 

"Guard me, L"rd! from the love of sensual 
pleasure I M I mber, that * to be car- 

nal ly-minded is death ,: Rom. 8 : 6. May it please 
thee, therefore, to purify and refine my soul by the in- 
of thine Holy Spirit, that I may always shun 
unlawful gratifications more solicitously than others 
pursue them ; and that those indulgences of animal 
nature which thou hast allowed, and which the con- 
stitution of things renders necessary, may be soberly 
and moderately used ! May I still remember the 
superior dignity of my spiritual and intelligent na- 
ture, and may the pleasures of the man and the 
Christian be sought as my noblest happiness ! May 
my soul rise on the wings of holy contemplation to 
the regions of invisible glory : and may I be en- 
deavoring to form myself, under the influences of 
divine grace, for the entertainments of those angelic 
spirits that live in thy presence in a happy incapa- 
city of those gross delights by which spirits dwell- 
ing in flesh are so often ensnared, and in which 
they so often lose the memory of their high original, 
and of those noble hopes which alone are propor- 
tionable to it ! 

we me, O Lord ! to know the station in which 
thou hast fixed me, and steadily to pursue the duties 
of it! But d. -liver me from those excessive cares of 
this world, which would so engross my time and 



RAYER AGAINST TEMPTATION 309 

my thoughts, that ' the one thing needful ' should be 
forgotten ! May my desires after worldly possessions 
be moderated, by considering their uncertain and 
unsatisfying nature ; and, while others are laying 
up treasures on earth, may I be • rich towards God !' 
Luke, 12 : 21. May I never be too busy to attend 
to those great affairs which lie between thee and 
my soul ; never be so engrossed with the concerns 
of time, as to neglect the interests of eternity ! May 
I pass through earth with my heart and hopes 
set upon heaven, and feel the attractive influence 
stronger and stronger as I approach still nearer and 
nearer to that desirable centre ; till the happy mo- 
ment come, when every earthly object shall dis- 
appear from my view, and the shining glories of 
the heavenly world shall fill my improved and 
strengthened sight, which shall then be cheered 
with that which would now overwhelm me ! Amen." 



310 DECLENSION IN RELIGION- 



CHAPTER XXII. 



TUB CASE OP SPIRITUAL DRCAY AND LANGUOR IS RXLKMOH 

I. Declensions in religion, and relapses into sin, with their 
sorrowful consequences, are in (he general loo probable. — 2. 
The case of declension and langourin scribed, 

negatively. — 3. And positively. — 4. As discovering itself — 
by a failure in the duties of the closet. — 5. By a ?> . 
social irorship. — 0. 13 y want of love to our fellow Christians. 
— 7. By an undue attachment to sensual pleasures or secular 
cares. — 8. By prejudices against some important principles 
in religion. — 9, 10. A symptom peculiarly sad and 
rous. — 11. Directions for recovery. — 12. Immediately to be 
pursued. A prayer for one under spiritual decays. 

1. If I am so happy as to prevail upon you in the 
exhortations and cautions I have given, you will 
probably go on with pleasure and comfort in reli- 
gion, and your path will generally be "like the 
morning light, which shineth more and more until 
the perfect day." Prov. 4: 18. Yet I dare not ilatter 
myself with an expectation of such success as shall 
carry you above those varieties of temper, conduct, 
and stat.', which have been more or less the 
plaint of the best of men. Much do I fear, that, how 
warmly soever your heart may now be impressed 
with the representation I have been making, though 
the great objects of your faith and hope continue 



DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 311 

unchangeable, your temper towards them will be 
changed. Much do I fear that you will feel your 
mind languish and tire in the good ways of God ; 
nay, that you may be prevailed upon to take some 
step out of them, and may thus fall a prey to some of 
those temptations which you now look upon with a 
holy scorn. The probable consequence of this will 
be, that God will hide his face from you ; that ho 
will stretch forth his afflicting hand against you, 
and that you still will see your sorrowful moments, 
how cheerfully soever you now "be rejoicing in the 
Lord, and joying in the God of your salvation." 
Hab. 3: 18. I hope, therefore, it may be of some 
service, if this too probable event should happen, 
to consider these cases a little more particularly; 
and I heartily pray, that God would make what I 
shall say concerning them the means of restoring, 
comforting, and strengthening your soul, if he ever 
suffers you in any degree to deviate from him. 

2. We will first consider the case of Spiritual 
Declensions and Languor in religion. And here I 
desire, that, before I proceed any farther, you would 
observe that I do not comprehend under this head 
every abatement of that fervor which a young con- 
vert may find when he first becomes experimentally 
acquainted with divine things. Our natures are so 
framed, that the novelty of objects strikes them in 
something of a peculiar manner : not to urge how 
much more easily our passions are impressed in 



312 DECLENSION IN KBLICM 

the rarlier years of life, than « re mop- ad- 

: in the journey of it. This, perhaps, is not 
sufficiently considered. I •: 'eat a stress is com- 
monly laid on t!x- flow of affections; and for want 
of this, a Christian, who ia ripened in grace, and 
greatly advanced in his ; L'lory, may 

sometimes be led to lament imaginary rather thar. 
real decays, and to say, without any just foundation, 
" O that it were with me as in months prist !" Job, 
29 : 2. Therefore, you can hardly be too 
told, that religion consists chiefly " 
tion of the will for God,' and in a constant care to 
avoid whatever we are persuaded he would disap- 
prove, to despatch the work he has assigned us in 
life, and to promote his glory in the happiness o:' 
mankind." To this we are chiefly to attend, looking 
in all to the simplicity and purity of those motives 
from which we act, which we know are chiefly re- 
garded by that God who searches the heart; hum- 
bling ourselves before him at the same time under a 
sense of our many imperfections, and flying to the 
blood of # Christ and the grace of the Gospel. 

3. Having given this precaution, I will now a 
little more particularly describe the case, which I 
call the state of a Christian who is declining in re- 
ligion ; so far as it does not fall in with those which 
I shall consider in the following chapters. And 1 
must observe that it chiefly consists "in a forget- 
fulness of divine objects, and a remissness in those 



DECLENSION IN RELIGION, 313 

various duties to which we stand engaged by that 
solemn surrender which we have made of ourselves 
to the service of God." There will be a variety of 
symptoms, according to the different circumstances 
and relations in which the Christian is placed ; but 
some will be of a more universal kind. It will be 
peculiarly proper to touch on these ; and so much 
the rather, as these declensions are often unobserved, 
like the gray hairs which were upon Ephraim, 
when he knew it not. Hosea, 7 : 9. 

4. Should you, my reader, fall into this state, it 
will probably first discover itself by a failure in the 
duties of the closet. Not that I suppose they will at 
first, or certainly conclude that they will at all, be 
wholly omitted, but they will be run over in a cold 
and formal manner. Sloth, or some of those other 
snares which I cautioned you against in the former 
chapter, will so far prevail upon you, that though 
perhaps you know and recollect that the proper sea- 
son of retirement is come, you will sometimes in- 
dulge yourself upon your bed in the morning, some- 
times in conversation or business in the evening, so 
as not to have convenient time for it. Or perhaps, 
when you come into your closet at that season, some 
.avorite book you are desirous to read, some corres- 
pondence that you choose to carry on, or some other 
amusement, will present itself, and plead to be des- 
patched first. This will probably take up more time 
than you imagined; and then s;cret prayer will be 

eyr R. &. Progress. 



314 MCLBM8I0M IN RBUOJ 

hurried over, and perhaps reading the Scriptures 
quitr i. You will plead, perhaps, that 

but for oncej but the same allowance will be n. 
a secon<! and a third time; and it will grow more 
easy and familial I I *h time than it was the 

last. And thus < rod will be mocked, and your own 
soul will be defrauded of its spiritual meals, if I may 
be allowed the expression ; the word of God will be 
slighted, and self-examination quite disused; and 
secret prayer itself will grow a burden rather tfa 
delight ; a trifling ceremony, rather than a devout 
homage, fit for the acceptance of " our Father who 
is in heaven." 

5. If immediate and resolute measures be not taken 
for your recovery from these declensions, they will 
spread farther, and reach the acts of social worship. 
You will feel the effects in your family and in pub- 
lic ordinances. And if you do not feel them, the 
symptoms will be so much the worse. Wandering 
thoughts will, as it were, eat out the very heart of 
these duties. It is not, I believe, the privilege of the 
most eminent Christians to be entirely free from 
them; but probably in these circumstances you will 
find but few intervals of strict attention, or of any 
thing which wears the appearance of inward devo- 
tion. And when these heartless duties are concluded, 
there will scarce be a reflection made, how little God 
hath been enjoyed in them, how little he hath been 
honored by them. Perhaps the sacrament of the 



DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 315 

Lord's Supper, being so admirably adapted to fix the 
attention of the soul, and to excite its warmest exer- 
cise of holy affections, may be the last ordinance in 
which these declensions will be felt. And yet, who 
can say that the sacred table is a privileged place ? 
Having been unnecessarily straitened in your pre- 
parations, you will attend with less fixedness and en- 
largement of heart than usual. And perhaps a dis- 
satisfaction in the review, when there has been a re- 
markable alienation or insensibility of mind, may 
occasion a disposition to forsake your place and your 
duty there. And when your spiritual enemies have 
once gained this point upon you, it is probable you 
will fall by swifter degrees than ever, and your 
resistance to their attempts will grow weaker and 
weaker. 

6. When your love to God our Father and to the 
Lord Jesus Christ fails, your fervor of Christian af- 
fection to your brethren in Christ will proportion- 
ably decline, and your concern for usefulness in life 
abate, especially where any thing is to be done for 
spiritual edification. You will find some one excuse 
or another for the neglect of religious discourse, 
perhaps not only among neighbors and Christian 
friends, when very convenient opportunities offer; 
but even with regard to those who are members of 
your own families, and to those who, if you are fixed 
in the superior relations of life, are committed to 
your care. 



316 DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 

7. With this remissness, an attachment either to 
sensual pleasures or to worldly business will increase. 
For the soul must have something to employ it, and 
something to delight itself in: and as it turns to the 
one or the other of these, temptations of one sort or 
another will present th> In some instances, 
perhaps the strictest bonds of temperance, and the 
regular appointments of life, may be broken in upon, 
through a fondness for company, and the entertain- 
ments which often attend it. In other instances, the 
interests of life appearing greater than they did be- 
fore, and taking up more of the mind, contrary in- 
terests of other persons may throw you into disquie- 
tude, or plunge you in debate and contention, in which 
it is extremely difficult to preserve either the sereni- 
ty or the innocence of the soul. And perhaps, if mi- 
nisters and other Christian friends observe this, and 
endeavor in a plain and faithful way to reduce you 
from your wandering, a false delicacy of mind, often 
contracted in such a state as this, will render these 
attempts extremely disagreeable. The ulcer of the 
soul, if I may be allowed the expression, will not 
bear being touched when it most needs it ; and one 
of the most generous and self-denying instances of 
Christian friendship shall be tamed into an occasion 
of coldness and distaste, yea, perhaps of enmity. 

8. And possibly, to sum up all, this disordered 
state of mind may lead you into some prejudices 
against those very principles which might be most 



DECLENSION IN RELIGION 317 

effectual for your recovery ; and your great enemy 
may succeed so far in his attempts against you, as 
to persuade you that you have lost nothing in reli- 
gion, when you have almost lost all. He may very 
probably lead you £0 conclude that your former de- 
votional frames were mere fits of enthusiasm, and 
that the holy regularity of your walk before God was 
an unnecessary strictness and scrupulosity. Nay, you 
may think it a great improvement in understanding, 
that you have learnt from some new masters, that, it 
a man treat his fellow creatures with humanity and 
good nature, judging and reviling only those who 
would disturb others by the narrowness of their no- 
tions, (for these are generally exempted from other 
objects of the most universal and disinterested bene- 
volence so often boasted of,) he must necessarily be 
in a very good state, though he pretend not to con- 
verse much with God, provided that he think re- 
spectfully of him, and do not provoke him by any 
gross immoralities. 

9. I mention this in the last stage of rel'gious de- 
clension, because I apprehend that to be its proper 
place; and I fear it will be found, by experience, to 
stand upon the very confines of that gross apostacy 
into deliberate and presumptuous sin, which will 
claim our consideration under the next head. And 
because, too, it is that symptom which most effec- 
tually tends to prevent the success, and even the use, 
of any proper remedies, in consequence of a fond 
27* 



318 DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 

and fatal apprehension that they are needless. It is 
if I may borrow the simile, like those fits of lethar 
gic drowsiness which often precede apoplexies and 
death. 

10. It is by no means my design at this time to 
reckon up, much less to consider at large, those dan- 
gerous principles which are now ready to possess 
the mind, and to lay the foundation of a false and 
treacherous peace. Indeed they are in different in- 
stances various, and sometimes run into oppos::* 
tremes. But if God awaken you to read your Bible 
with attention, and give you to feel the spirit with 
which it is written, almost every page will flash con- 
viction upon the mind, and spread a light to scatter 
and disperse these shades of darkness. 

11. What I chiefly intend in this address, is to 
engage you, if possible, as soon as you perceive the 
first symptoms of these declensions, to be upon your 
guard, and to endeavor, as speedily as possible, to 
recover yourself from them. And I would remind 
you, that the remedy must begin where the first cause 
or complaint prevailed, I mean, in the closet. Take 
some time for recollection, and ask your own con- 
science, seriously, how matters stand between the 
blessed God and your soul? Whether they are as 
they once were, and as you could wish them to be, 
if you saw your life just drawing to a period, and 
were to pass immediately into the eternal state? One 
serious thought of eternity shames a thousand vain 



DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 319 

excuses, with which, in the forgetfulness of it, we are 
ready to delude our own souls. And when you feel 
that secret misgiving of heart which will naturally 
arise on this occasion, do not endeavor to palliate the 
matter, and to find out slight and artful coverings 
for what you cannot forbear secretly condemning, 
but honestly fall under the conviction, and be hum- 
bled for it. Pour out your heart before God, and 
seek the renewed influences of his Spirit and grace. 
Return with more exactness to secret devotion, and 
to self-examination. Read the Scripture with yet 
greater diligence, and especially the more devotional 
and spiritual parts of it. Labor to ground it in your 
heart, and to feel what you have reason to believe 
the sacred penmen felt when they wrote, so far as 
circumstances may agree. Open your soul, with all 
simplicity, to every lesson which the word of God 
would teach you ; and guard against those things 
which you perceive to alienate your mind from in- 
ward religion, though there be nothing criminal in 
the things themselves. They may perhaps in the 
general be lawful ; to some possibly they may be ex- 
pedient ; but if they produce such an effect as was 
mentioned above, it is certain they are not conve- 
nient for you. In these circumstances, above all, seek 
the converse of those Christians whose progress in 
religion seems most remarkable, and who adorn their 
profession in the most amiable manner. Labor to 
obtain their temper and sentiments, and lay open 



320 DECLENSION IN RELIGION. 

your ens*' and your heart to them, with all the free- 
dom which prudence will permit. Employ yourself, 
at seasons of leisure, in reading practical and devo- 
tional books, in which the mind and heart of the 
pious author is transfused into the work, and in 
which you can, as it were, taste the genuine spirit 
of Christianity. And to conclude, take the first op 
portunity that presents, of making an approach to 
the table of the Lord, and spare neither time nor 
pains in the most serious preparation for it. There 
renew your covenant with God ; put your soul anew 
into the hands of Christ, and endeavor to view the 
wonders of his dying love, in such a manner as may 
rekindle the languishing flame, and quicken you to 
more vigorous resolution than ever, " to live unto 
him who died for you." 2 Cor. 5 : 15. And watch 
over your own heart, that the good impressions you 
then felt may continue. Rest not, till you have ob- 
tained as confirmed a state of religion as you ever 
knew. Rest not, till you have made a greater pro- 
gress than before ; for it is only by a zeal to go for- 
ward, that you can be secure from the danger of 
going backward, and revolting more and more. 

12. I only add, that it is necessary to take these 
precautions as soon as possible, or you will probably 
find a much swifter progress than you are aware in 
the downhill road ; and you may possibly be left of 
God, to fall into some gross and aggravated sin, so 
as to fill your conscience with an agony and horror 



PRAYER UNDER DECLENSION. 321 

which the pain of "broken bones" (Psalm 51 : 8) 
can but imperfectly express. 

A Prayer for one junde^ Spiritual Decays. 

" Eternal and unchangeable Jehovah ! thy per- 
fections and glories are, like thy being, immutable. 
Jesus thy Son is « the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever.' Heh. 13:8. The eternal world, to which 
I am hastening, is always equally important, and 
presses upon the attentive mind for a more fixed and 
solemn regard, in proportion to the degree in which 
it comes nearer and nearer. But, alas ! my views, 
and my affections, and my best resolutions, are con- 
tinually varying, like this poor body, which goes 
through daily and hourly alterations in its state and 
circumstances. Whence, O Lord ! whence this sad 
change which I now experience in the frame and 
temper of my mind toward thee? Whence this 
alienation of my soul from thee 1 Why can I not 
come to thee with all the endearments of filial love, 
as I once could ? Why is thy service so remissly at- 
tended, if attended at all ? And why are the exercises 
of it, which were once my greatest pleasure, become 
a burden to me? Where, God ! is the blessedness 
I once spake of, (Gal. 4 : 15,) when my joy in thee 
as my Heavenly Father was so conspicuous that 
strangers might have observed it, and when my heart 
did so overflow with love to thee, and with zeal for 



32J PRAYER UNDER DECLENSION. 

thy service, that it was matter of self-denial to me 
to limit and restrain the genuine expressions oi 
those strong emotions of my soul, even where pru- 
dence and duty required it 1 

"Alas, Lord! whither am I fallen? Thine eye 
sees me still ; but, oh ! how unlike what it once saw 
me! Cold and insensible as I am, I must blush on 
the reflection. Thou 'seest me in secret,' (Matt. 6 : 
6,) and seest me, perhaps, often amusing I 
with trifles, in those seasons which I used solemnly 
to devote to thine immediate service. Thou seest 
me coming into thy presence as by constraint ; and 
when I am before thee, so straitened in my spirit, 
that I hardly know what to say to thee, though thou 
art the God with whom I have to do ; and though 
the keeping up a humble and dutiful correspondence 
with thee is, beyond all comparison, the most impor- 
tant business of my life. And even when I am 
speaking to thee, with how much coldness and for- 
mality is it ! It is perhaps the work of imagination, 
the labor of the lips ; but where are those ardent 
desires, those intense breathings after God, which I 
once felt ? Where is that pleasing repose in thee, 
which I was once conscious of, as being near my 
divine rest, as being happy in that nearness, and re- 
solving that, if possible, I would no more be remov 
Bd from it? But, oh ! how far am 1 now removed ? 
When these Bhort devotions, if they may be called 
devotions, are over, in what Ion? intervals do I for- 



PRAYER UNDER DECLENSION. 323 

get thee, and appear so little animated with thy love, 
so little devoted to thy service, that a stranger might 
converse with me a considerable time, without know- 
ing that I had ever formed any acquaintance with 
thee, without discovering that I had so much as 
known or heard any thing of God ? Thou callest me 
to thine house, O Lord ! on thine own day : but how 
heartless are my services there ! I present thee no 
more than my body : my thoughts and affections 
are engrossed with other objects, while I 'draw near 
thee with my mouth, and honor thee with my lips.' 
Isaiah, 29 : 13. Thou callest me to thy table; but 
my heart is so frozen, that it hardly melts even at 
the foot of the cross, hardly feels any efficacy in the 
blood of Jesus. O wretched creature that I am! 
Unworthy of being called thine ! Unworthy of a 
place among thy children, or of the meanest situa- 
tion in thy family: rather worthy to be cast out, to 
be forsaken, yea, to be utterly destroyed ! 

" Is this, Lord, the service which 1 once promised, 
and which thou hast so many thousand reasons to 
expect ? Are these the returns I am making for thy 
daily providential care, for the sacrifice of thy Son, 
for the communications of thy Spirit, for the pardon 
of my numberless aggravated sins, for the hopes, 
the undeserved and so often forfeited hopes of eter- 
nal glory ? Lord, I am ashamed to stand or to kneel 
before thee. But pity me, I beseech thee, and help 
me ; for I am a pitiable object indeed ; my soul 



324 PRAYER ■;.< LElfffOK. 

\h unto the dust, and lavs itself as in the dust 
before thee; but, t) quicken me according to thy 
word! Psalm 119: 2 me trifle no i 

for I am upon the brink of a precipice ! I am think- 
ing of my ways < » . e to turn my feet 
unto thy testimonies, to make haste without any 
farther delay, that I may keep thy commandments! 
Psalm 119: 59, GO. Search me, Lord! and try 
me. Psalm 139 : 23. Go to the first root of this 
distemper, which spreads itself over my soul, and 
recover me from it ! Represent sin unto me, O Lord ! 
I beseech thee, that 1 may see it with abhor: 
and represent the Lord Jesus Christ to me in sueh a 
light, that I may look upon him and mourn, (Zee. 
12 : 10,) that I may look upon him and love ! May 
I awaken from this stupid lethargy into which I am 
sinking, and may Christ give me more abundant 
degrees of spiritual life and activity than I have ever 
yet received ! and may I be so quickened and ani- 
mated by him, that I may more than recover the 
gnound I have lost, and may make a more speedy 
and exemplary progress than in my best days I have 
ever yet done ! Send down upon me, O Lord ! in 
a more rich and abundant effusion, thy good Spirit. 
May he dweil in me as a temple which he has con- 
secrated to himself! (1 Cor. 3 : 16,) and while all 
the service is directed and governed by him, may 
holy and acceptable sacrifices be continually offer- 
ed ! Bom. 12 : 1. May the incense be constant, and 



RELAPSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 325 

may it be fragrant ! May the sacred fire burn and 
blaze perpetually! Lev. 6: 13. And may none of 
lis vessels ever be profaned, by being employed to 
an unholy or forbidden use ! Amen." 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE SAD CASK OF A RELAPSE INTO KNO"WN AND DELIBERATE 
SIK, AFTER SOLEMN ACTS OF DEDICATION TO GOD AND SOME 
PROGRESS MADE IN ItELIGION. 

». Unthought of relapses may happen. — 2. And bring the soul 
into a miserable case. — 3. Yet the case is not desperate.— 4. 
The backslider urged immediately to return, by deep hu- 
miliation before God for so aggravated an offence. — 5. By 
renewed regards to the divine mercy in Christ. — 6. By an 
open profession of repentance, zohere the crime hath given 
-public offence. — 7. Falls to be reviewed for future caution. — 
8. The chapter concludes icith a prayer for the use of one 
who hath fallen into gross sins, after religious resolutions 
and engagements. 

1. The declensions which I have described in the 
foregoing* chapter, must be acknowledged worthy of 
deep lamentations ; but happy will you be, my dear 
reader, if you never know, by experience, a circum- 
stance yet more melancholy than this. Perhaps, 
when you consider the view of things which' you 
now have, you imagine that no consideration can 

og R.. & Progress 



K I. lapse r> !N. 

you, in ai to acteont] 

lo the present dictates < I itiona of your con- 

■r of the Spi rit of < »od by which it has been 
enlightened and di No: you think it would 

Debater foi you to I you think rightly: but 

I '• ' r thought and said so too ; " Though I should 
die with thee, yet will I not 
'S3,) and yet, after all, he fell : and then 
high-minded, but fear." Rom. 11:20. Ll ia nut 
impossible but you may fall into that very Bin of 
which you imagine you qfc least in danger, or into 
that against which you have most solemnly I 
and of which you have already most bitterly re- 
pented. You may relapse into it again and again. 
But, O! if you do, nay, if you should deliberately 
and presumptuously fall but once, how deep will it 
pierce your heart! How dear will yi l all 

the pleasure with which the temptation lias ! 
accompanied ! IIovv will this separate beta 
ind you ! What a desolation, what a dreadful •'• 
lation will it spread over your soul ! It is grievous to 
think of it. Perhaps in such a state you may feel 
':i"re agony and distress in your own conscience, 
when you come seriously to reflect, than you ever 
felt when you were first awakened and reclaimed ; 

I8e the sin will be attended witii some very I 
ravations, beyond those of your unregenemte 
I well know the person that *:i'u.\, "the I 

i J a sniKer } in the til 



RELAPSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 327 

are not to be mentioned on the same day with those 
of the ' backslider in heart,' when he comes to be 
filled with his own way.' " Pro v. 14 : 14. 

2. Indeed, it is enough to wound one's heart to 
think how yours will be wounded; how all your 
comforts, all your evidences, all your hopes, will be 
clouded ; what thick darkness will spread itself on 
every side ; so that neither sun, nor moon, nor stars 
will appear in your heaven. Your spiritual conso- 
lations will be gone ; and your temporal enjoy- 
ments will also be rendered tasteless and insipid. 
And if afflictions be sent, as they probably may, in 
order to reclaim you, a consciousness of guilt will 
sharpen and envenom the dart. Then will the ene- 
my of your soul, with all his art and power, rise up 
against you, encouraged by your fall, and laboring 
to trample you down in utter, hopeless ruin. He 
will persuade you that you are already undone be- 
yond recovery. He will suggest that it signifies 
nothing to attempt it any more ; for that every ef- 
fort, every amendment, every act of repentance, will 
but make your case so much the worse, and plunge 
you lower and lower into hell. 

3. Thus will he endeavor by terrors to keep you 
from that sure remedy which yet remains. But 
yield not to him. Your case will indeed be sad • 
and if it be now your case, it is deplorably so ; and 
to rest in it, would be still much worse.* Your heart 
would be hardened yet more and more; and nothing 



! : ■ KTO X KOH ■ 

eoul I be ex peel 

i'\ i i. V< not quite b 

\ 

■ 
not incurable. I • is a balm in 

not there- 
fore render your condition hope!- .mcr. 
" There is no hop •." (J Irawiog a 
fatal argument from a false supposition, "for g 
after the idols you have loved - you 
in the language of God to his backsliding people, 
when they were ready to apprehend that to be their 
case, and to draw such a conclusion from it: " only 
return unto me, saith the Lord." Jer. 3:13. Cry 
for renewed grace; and in the strength of it labor to 
return. Cry with David, under the like guilt, " I 
have gone astray like a lost sh< 
rant, for 1 do not forget thy commandments;" (Ps. 
1 19 : 176,) and that remembrance of them is, I hope, 
a token for good. But if thou wilt return at all, do 
it immediately- Take not one step more in that 
fatal path, to which thou hast turned aside. Think- 
not to add one more sin to the account, and then to 
iit; as if it would be but the same thincr on the 
whole The Second error may be worse than the 
first; it may make way for another and another, and 
draw on a terrible train of consequences, beyond all 
you can now imagine. Make haste, therefore, 
do not delay " Escape, and fly as for thy life.* 



RELAPSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 329 

(Gen. 19 : 17,) before "the dart strike through thy 
liver." Prov. 7 : 23. Give not sleep to thine eyes, 
nor slumbeT to thine eyelids," (Prov. 6 : 4,) lie not 
down upon thy bed under unpardoned guilt, lest evil 
overtake thee, lest the sword of divine justice should 
smite thee, and, whilst thou purposest to return to- 
morrow, thou shouldst this night go and take pos- 
session of hell, 

4. Return immediately, and, permit me to add, 
Teturn solemnly. Some very pious and excellent 
•divines have expressed themselves upon this head, 
in a manner which seems liable to dangerous abuse : 
when they urge men after a fall, " not to stay to sur- 
vey the ground, nor consider how they came to be 
thrown down, but immediately to get up and renew 
the race." In slighter cases the advice is good ; but 
when conscience has suffered such violent outrage, 
by the commission of known, willful, and deliberate 
sin, (a case which one would hope should but sel- 
dom happen to those who have once sincerely en- 
tered on a religious course,) I can by no means 
think that either reason or Scripture encourages such 
a method. Especially would it be improper, if the 
action itself had been of so heinous a nature, that 
even to have fallen into it on the most sudden sur- 
prise of temptation, must have greatly ashamed, and 
terrified, and distressed the soul. Such an affair is 
dreadfully solemn, and should be treated according- 
\y. If this has been the sad case with you, my then 



330 RELAPSE INT KNOWN SIN. 

unhappy reader i would pity you, and mourn 
you; and would 1 ia you value . 

:v life 
ofyour soul, that you would not lo . an hour. 

Retire immediately for ■ r, iia B 

through ochei ' ad employment 

v for 
\ hours, which can seld cir- 

eum8tance I now suppose. S if to it, t! 

fore, as in the presence of Gud, and heal 
patiently and humbly, what conscien 
though it chide and reproach severely. Yea, ear- 
nestly pray that God would speak to you by con- 
science, and make you more thoroughly to know 
and feel u what an evil and bitter thing it is, that 
you have thus forsaken him." Jer. J 19. Think 
of all the aggravating circumstances attend 
oli.ncej and especially think of those which ar^e 
from abused mercy and goodness; which arise, not 
only from your solemn vows and engagements to 
God, but from the views you have had of a i 
er's love, sealed even in blood. And are these the 
returns ? Was it not enough that Christ should I 
been thus injured by his enemies? .Must he be 
" wounded in the house of hi- friends" too? Zech. 
13 6. Were "you delivered to work such aboun- 
ds as these ?" Jer. 7 : 10. Didthe fesus 
groan and die for you, that you might sin with bold- 
ness and freedom, that you might extract, as it * 



RELAPSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 331 

the very spirit and essence of sin, and offend God to 
a height of ingratitude and baseness, which would 
otherwise have been, in the nature of things, impos- 
sible ? O think, how justly God might " cast you out 
from his presence !" How justly he might number 
you among the most signal instances of his ven- 
geance ! And think how " your heart would endure ; 
or your hands be strong," if he should "deal thus 
with you ! : ' Ezek. 22 : 14. Alas ! all your former 
experiences would enhance your sense of the ruin 
and misery that must be felt in an eternal banish- 
ment from the divine presence and favor. 

5. Indulge such reflections as these. Stand the 
humbling sight of your sins in such a view as this. 
The more odious and the more painful it appears, 
the greater prospect there will be of your benefit by 
attending to it. But the matter is not to rest here. 
All these reflections are intended, not to grieve, but to 
cure ; and to grieve no more than may promote the 
cure. You are indeed to look upon sin ; but you 
are also, in such circumstances, if ever, to look up- 
on Christ, to look upon him whom you have now 
pierced deeper than before, and to mourn for him 
with sincerity and tenderness. Zech. 12 : 10. The 
God whom you have injured and affronted, whose 
laws you have broken, and whose justice you have, 
as it were, challenged by this foolish, wretched 
apostacy, is nevertheless "a most merciful God." 
Deut. 4:31, You cannot be so ready to return to 



332 RLLATSF. INTO KNOWN SIN. 

him, os he is to receive you. Even now does he, as 
it were, solicit a reconciliation, by those tender im- 
pressions which he is making upon your }>• 
But remember how he will be reconciled It is in 

the very same way in which y your first 

approach to him. in the name and for the sake of 
his dear Son. Come therefore in an humble de- 
pendence upon him. Renew your application to 
Jesus, that his blood may, as it Sprinkled 

upon your soul, that ycur soul may thereby be pu- 
rified, and your guilt removed. This very sin of 
yours, which the blessed God foresaw, increased the 
weight of your Redeemer's sufferings: it was con- 
cerned in shedding his blood. Humbly go, and 
place your wounds, as it were, under the droppings 
of that precious balm, by which a'one they C4 
healed. That compassionate Savior will delight to 
restore you, when you lie as an humble suppliant at 
his feet, and will graciously take part with you in 
that peace and pleasure which he gives. Through 
him renew your covenant with God, that broken 
covenant, the breach of which divine justice might 
teach you to know "by terrible things in righteous- 
ness :" (Psal. 65 : 5,) but mercy allows of an accom- 
modation. Let the consciousness and remembrance 
of that breach engage you to enter into covenant 
anew, under a deeper sense than ever of your own 
weakness, ami ;i more cordial dependence on divine 
grace for your security, than you have ever yet »n 



RELAPSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 333 

tertained. I know you will be ashamed to present 
yourself among the children of God in his sanctuary, 
and especially at his table, under a consciousness of 
so much guilt ; but break through that shame, if 
Providence open you the way. You would be 
humbled before your offended Father; but surely 
there is no place where you are more likely to be 
humbled, than when you see yourself in his house, 
and no ordinance administered there can lay you 
lower than that in which " Christ is evidently set 
forth as crucified before your eyes." Gal. 3:1. 
Sinners are the only persons who have business 
there. The best of men come to that sacred table as 
sinners. As such make your approach to it ; yea, 
as the greatest of sinners, as one who needs the blooo 
of Jesus as much as any creature upon earth. 

6. And let me remind you of one thing more. If 
your fall has been of such a nature as to give any 
scandal to others, be not at all concerned to save 
appearances, and to moderate those mortifications 
which deep humiliation before them would occasion. 
The depth and pain of that mortification is indeed an 
excellent medicine, which God has in his wise good- 
ness appointed for you in such circumstances as 
these. In such a case, confess your fault with the 
greatest frankness; aggravate it to the utmost; en- 
treat pardon and prayer from those whom you have 
offended. Then, and never till then, will you be in 
the way to peace ; not by palliating a fault, not by 



334 RELAPSE INTO KNOWN BIN 

making vain excuses, not by objecting to the man- 
ner in which otln-rs may have treated you : as if the 

least excess of rigor in a faithful admonition m 
crime equal to some great immorality that occa- 
sioned it. This can only proceed from the madness 
of pride and self-love; it is the sensibility of a wound, 
which is hardened, swelled, and inflamed; and it 
must be reduced, and cooled, and suppled, before it 
can possibly be cured. To be censured and con- 
demned by men, will be but a little grievance to a 
soul thoroughly humbled and broken under a sense 
of having incurred the condemning sentence of God. 
Such a one will rather desire to glorify God, by sub- 
mitting to deserved blame; and will fear deceiving 
others into a more favorable opinion of himself than 
he inwardly knows that he deserves. These are the 
sentiments which God gives to the sincere penitent 
in such a case; and by this means he restores him 
to that credit and regard among others, which he 
does not know how to seek ; but which, nevertheless, 
for the sake both of his comfort and usefulness. I 
wills that he should have, and which it is, humanly 
speaking, impossible for him to recover any other 
way. But there is something so honorable in the 
frank acknowledgment of a fault, and in deep humi- 
liation for it, that all who see it must needs approve 
it. They pity an offender who is brought to such a 
disposition, and endeavor to comfort him with re- 
turning expressions, not only of their love, but of 
their esteem too. 



RFLATSE INTO KNOWN SIN. 335 

7. Excuse this digression, which may suit some 
cases ; and which would suit many more, if a regu- 
lar discipline were to be exercised in churches ; for, 
on such a supposition, the Lord's Supper could not 
be approached, after visible and scandalous falls, 
without solemn confession of the offence, and decla- 
rations of repentance. On the other hand, there may 
be instances of sad apostacy, where the crime, though 
highly aggravated before God, may not fall under 
human notice. In this case, remember that your 
business is with Him to whose piercing eye every 
thing appears in its just light: before him, there- 
fore, prostrate your soul, and seek a solemn recon- 
ciliation with him, confirmed by the memorials of 
his dying Son. And when this is done, imagine not, 
that, because you have received the tokens of par 
don, the guilt of your apostacy is to be forgotten at 
once. Bear it still in your memory for future cau- 
tion : lament it before God, especially in the fre- 
quent returns of secret devotion ; and view with hu- 
miliation the scars of those wounds which your own 
folly occasioned, even when by divine grace they 
are thoroughly healed. For God establishes his co- 
venant, not to remove the sense of every past abomi- 
nation, but " that thou mayest remember thy ways, 
and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any 
more because of thy shame, even when I am paci- 
fied towards thee for all that thou hast done, saith 
the Lord." Ezek. 16 : 63. 



336 PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO SIZC. 

8. And now, upon the whole, if you desire to at* 
tain such a temper, and to rriurn to such steps as 
these, then immediately fall down before God, and 
pour out your heart in his presence, in language 
like this. 

A Prayer fur one who has fallen into gross Sin, after religious 



"O most Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God ! when I 
seriously reflect on thy spotless purity, and on the 
strict and impartial methods of thy steady adminis- 
tration, together with that almighty power of thine, 
which is able to carry every thought of thine heart 
into immediate and full execution, I may justly ap- 
pear before thee this day with shame and terror, in 
confusion and consternation of spirit. This day, 
my God ! this dark, mournful day, would 1 take 
occasion to look back to that sad source of our guilt 
and our misery, the apostacy of our common parents, 
and say with thine offending servant David, ■ Be- 
hold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
mother conceive me.' Psalm 51:5. This 
would I lament all the fatal consequences of such a 
descent, with regard to myself. And, oh how many 
have they been ! The remembrance of the sins of 
my unconverted state, and the failings and infirmi- 
ties of my after life, may justly confound me ! How 
much more such a scene as now lies before my con- 
science, and before thine all-seeing eye ! For thou, 



PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO SIN. 337 

Lord ! 4 knowest my foolishness, and my sins are 
not hid from thee.' Psalm 69 : 5. Thou tellest all 
my wanderings from thy statutes, (Psalm 56: 8,) 
thou seest and thou recordest every instance of my 
disobedience to thee, and of my rebellion against 
thee. Thou seest them in every aggravated circum- 
stance which I can discern, and many more which 

1 have never observed or reflected upon. How then 
shall I appear in thy presence, or lift up my face to 
thee ! Ezra, 9:6. I am full of confusion, (Job, 10 : 
15,) and feel a secret regret m the thought of apply- 
ing to thee ; but « O Lord, to whom shall I go but 
unto thee?' John, 6 : 68. Unto thee, on whom 
depends my life or my death ; unto thee, who alone 
canst take away the burden of guilt which now 
presses me down to the dust; w T ho alone canst re- 
store to my soul that rest and peace which 1 have 
lost, and which I deserve for ever to lose ! 

" Behold me, O Lord God ! falling down at thy 
feet ! Behold me pleading guilty in thy presence, 
and surrendering myself to that justice which I can- 
not escape ! I have not one word to offer in my own 
vindication, in my own excuse. Words, far from 
being able to clear up my innocence, can never suf- 
ficiently describe the enormity and demerit of my 
sin. Thou, O Lord ! and thou only, knowest to the 
full, how heinous and how aggravated it is. Thme 
infinite understanding alone can fathom the infinite 
depth of its malignity. I am, on many accounts, 

29 R. & Progress. 



338 PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO 815. 

most unable to do it. I cannot conceive the glory 
of thy sacred Majesty, whose authority I have des- 
pised, nor the number and variety of those mercies 
which I have sinned against. I cannot conceive the 
value of the blood of thy dear Son. which I have 
ungratefully trampled under my feet : nor the dig- 
nity of that blessed Spirit of thine, whose agency I 
have, as far as I could, been endeavoring to oppose, 
and whose work I have been, as with all my might, 
laboring to undo ; and to tear up, as it were, that 
plantation of his grace which I should rather have 
been willing to have guarded with my life, and 
watered with my blood. O the baseness and mad* 
ness of my conduct ! That I should thus, as it were, 
rend open the wounds of my soul, of which I had 
died long ere this, had not thine own hand applied 
a remedy, had not thine only Son bled to prepare it ! 
that I should violate the covenant I had made with 
thee by sacrifice, (Psalm 50: 5,) by the memorials 
of such a sacrifice too, even of Jesus, my Lord, 
whereby I am become guilty of his body and 
blood. 1 Cor. 11 : 27. That I should bring such 
dishonor upon religion too, by so unsuitable a walk, 
and perhaps open the mouths of its greatest enemies 
to insult it upon my account, and prejudice some 
against it to their everlasting destruction ! 

" I wonder, O Lord God ! that 1 am here to own 
all this. I wonder that thou hast not long ago ap- 
peared as a swift witness against me, (Mai. 3: 5.) 



PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO SIN. 339 

that thou hast not discharged the thunderbolts of 
thy flaming wrath against me, and crushed me into 
hell ; making me there a terror to all about me, as 
well as to myself, by a vengeance and ruin, to be 
distinguished even there, where all are miserable, 
and all hopeless. 

" O God ! thy patience is marvellous ! But how 
much more marvellous is thy grace, which, after 
all this, invites me to thee ! While I am here giving 
judgment against myself, that I deserve to die, to die 
for ever, thou art sending me the words of everlast- 
ing life, and ' calling me, as a backsliding child, to 
return unto thee.' Jer. 3 : 22. Eehold, therefore, O 
Lord ! invited by thy word, and encouraged by thy 
grace, I come ; and great as my transgressions are, 
I humbly beseech thee freely to pardon them; be- 
cause I know, that, though ■ my sins have reached 
unto heaven,' (Rev. 18 : 5,) and are 'lifted up even 
unto the skies,' (Jer. 51 : 9,) ' thy mercy,' O Lord ! 
is above the heavens.' Psalm 108 : 4. Extend that 
mercy to me, O heavenly Father ! and display, in 
this illustrious instance, the riches of thy grace and 
the prevalency of thy Son's blood ! For surely, if 
such crimson sins as mine may be made ' white as 
snow and as wool,' (Isa. 50 : 12,) and if such a re- 
volter as I am be brought to eternal glory, earth 
must, so far as it is known, be filled with wonder 
and heaven with praise ; and the greatest sinner may 
cheerfully apply for pardon, if I, 'the chief of sin- 



340 PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO SIN. 

ners,' find it. And, oh ! that, when I have lain 
mourning, and as it were bleeding at thy feet, as 
long as thou thinkest proper, thou wouldst at length 
4 heal this soul of mine' which has sinned against 
thee, (Psalm 41 : 4,) and ' give me beauty for ashes, 
the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness !' Isa. 61 : 3. O that 
thou wouldst at length 'restore unto me the joy of 
thy salvation, and make me to hear songs of glad- 
ness, that the bones which thou hast broken may 
rejoice !' Psalm 51:8, 12. Then, when a sense of 
thy forgiving love is shed abroad upon my heart, 
and it is cheered with the voice of pardon, I will 
proclaim thy grace to others ; ' I will teach trans- 
gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted 
unto thee:' (Psalm 51 : 13,) those that have been 
backsliding from thee shall be encouraged to seek 
thee, by my happy experience, which I will gladly 
proclaim for thy glory, though it be to my own 
shame, and confusion of face. And may this 'joy of 
the Lord be my strength !' (Neh. 8 : 10,) so that in it 
I may serve thee henceforward with a vigor and zeal 
far beyond what I have hitherto known ! This I 
would ask with all humble submission to thy will, 
for I presume not to insist upon it. If thou shouldst 
see fit to make me a warning to others, by appoint- 
ing that I should walk all my days in darkness 
and at last die under a cloud, ' thy will be done !' 
But, O God ! extend mercy, for thy Son's sake, to 



PRAYER FOR ONE FALLEN INTO SIN. 341 

this sinful soul at last, and give me some place, 
though it were at the feet of all thy other servants, 
in the regions of glory ! O bring me at length, 
though it should be through the gloomiest valley 
that any one ever passed, into that blessed world, 
where I shall depart from God no more, where I 
shall wound my own conscience, and dishonor thy 
holy name no more ! Then shall my tongue be 
loosed, how long soever it might here be bound un- 
der the confusion of guilt; and immortal praises 
shall be paid to that victorious blood which has re- 
deemed such an infamous slave of sin as I must ac^ 
knowledge myself to be, and brought me, from 
returns into bondage and repeated pollution, to share 
the dignity and holiness of those who are ' kings 
and priests unto God.' Rev. 1 : 6. Amen," 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIAN CNDER THE HIDINGS OF 
god's FACE. 

I The phrase scriptural. — 2. It signifies the withdrawing tn.e 
tokens of the olivine favor. — 3. chiefly as to spiritual conside- 
rations. — 4. This may become the cast of any Christian, — 
5. and will be found a very sorrov:Jul one. — 6. The follow- 
ing directions, therefore, are given to those who suppose it to 
be their own : To inquire whether it be indeed a case of spiri- 
tual distress, or whether a disconsolate frame may not proceed 
from indisposition of body, — 7. or difficulties as to worldly 
circumstances. — 8, 9. If it be found to be indeed such as the 
title of the chapter proposes, be advised — to consider it as a 
merciful dispensation of God, to awaken and bestir the soul, 
and excite to a strict examination of conscience, and refor- 
mation of VjJiat has been amiss. — 10. To be humble and pa- 
tient v;hilet/ie trial continues. — 11. To go on steadily in the 
way of duty. — 12. To renevj a believing application to the 
blood of Jesus. An humble supplication for one under these 
mournful exercises of mind, when they are found, to proceed 
from, the spiritual cause supposed. 

1. There is a case which often occurs in the Chris- 
tian life, which they who accustom themselves much 
to the exercise of devotion have been used to call the 
" hiding of God's face." It is a phrase borrowed from 
the word of God, which I hope may shelter it from 
contempt at the first hearing. It will be my business 



HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 343 

m this chapter to state it as plainly as I can, and 
then to give some advice as to your own conduct 
when you fall into it, as it is very probable you may 
before you have finished your journey through this 
wilderness. 

2. The meaning of it may partly be understood 
by the opposite phrase of God's " causing his face to 
shine upon a person, or lifting up upon him the 
light of his countenance." This seems to carry in 
it an allusion to the pleasant and delightful appear- 
ance which the face of a friend has, and especially 
if in a superior relation of life, when he converses 
with those whom he loves and delights in. Thus 
Job, when speaking of the regard paid him by his 
attendants, says, " If I smiled upon them, they be- 
lieved it not, and the light of my countenance they 
cast not down," (Job, 29 : 24,) that is, they were 
careful, in such agreeable circumstances, to do no- 
thing to displease me, or (as we speak) to cloud my 
brow. And David, when expressing his desire of 
the manifestation of God's favor to him, says, " Lord, 
lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me;" 
and, as the effect of it, declares, "thou hast put glad- 
ness into my heart, more than if corn and wine in- 
creased." Psalm 4 : 6, 7. Nor is it impossible, that, 
in this phrase, as used by David, there may be some 
allusion to the bright shining forth of the Sbekinah, 
that is, the lustre which dwelt in* the cloud as the 
visible sign of the divine presence with Israel, which 



344 HIDINGS OF GODS FACE. 

God was pleased peculiarly to manifest upon some 
public occasions, as a token of his favor and accept- 
ance. On the other hand, therefore, for God " to 
hide his face," must imply his withholding the tokens 
of his favor, and must be esteemed a mark of his dis- 
pleasure. Thus Isaiah uses it, " Your iniquities 
have separated between you and your God, and 
your sins have hid his face from you, that he will 
not hear." Isaiah, 59 : 2. And again, " Thou hast 
hid thy face from us," as not regarding the calami- 
ties we suffer, '' and hast consumed us because of 
our iniquities." Isaiah, 64 : 7. So likewise for God 
'* io hide his face from our sins," (Psalm 51 : 9,) 
signifies to overlook them, and to take no farther 
notice of them. The same idea is, at other times, ex- 
pressed by " God's hiding his eyes," (Isaiah, 1 : 15,) 
from persons of a character disagreeable to him, 
when they come to address him with their petitions, 
not vouchsafing, as it were, to look toward them. 
This is plainly the scriptural sense of the word ; and 
agreeably to this, it is generally used by Christians 
in our day, and every thing which seems a token of 
divine displeasure toward them is expressed by it. 

3. It is farther to be observed here, that the things 
which they judge to be manifestations of divine favor 
toward them, or complacency in them, are not only, 
nor chiefly of a temporal nature, or such as merely 
relate to the blessings of this animal and perishing 
life. David, though the promises of the law had a 






HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 345 

continual reference to such, yet was taught to look 
farther, and describes them as preferable to, and 
therefore plainly distinct from " the blessings of the 
corn-floor or the wine-press." Psalm 4 : 7. And if 
you whom 1 am now addressing do not know them, 
to be so, it is plain you are quite ignorant of the sub- 
ject we are inquiring into, and indeed have yet to 
learn the first lessons of true religion. All that Da- 
vid says, of " beholding the beauty of the Lord," 
(Psalm 27 : 4,) or being " satisfied as with marrow 
and fatness, when he remembered him upon his bed," 
(Psalm 63 : 5, 6,) as well as "with the goodness of 
his house, even of his holy temple," (Psalm 65 : 4,) 
is to be taken in the same sense, and can need very 
little explication to the truly experienced soul. But 
those who have known the light of God's counte- 
nance, and the shillings of his face, will, in propor- 
tion to the degree of that knowledge, be able to form 
some notion of the hiding of his face, or the with- 
drawing of the tokens he has given his people of 
his presence and favor, which sometimes greatly 
imbitters prosperity; as, where the contrary is found, 
it sweetens affliction, and often swallows up the sense 
of it. 

4. And give me leave to remind you, my Chris- 
tian friend, (for under that character I now address 
my reader,) that to be thus deprived of the sense of 
God's love, and of the tokens of his favor, may soon 
be the case with you, though you may now have the 



346 HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 

pleasure to see the candle of the Lord shining upon 
you, or though it may even seem to be sunshine and 
high noon in your soul. You may lose your lively 
views of the divine perfections and glory, in the con- 
templation of which you now find that inward satis- 
faction. You may think of the divine wisdom and 
power, of the divine mercy and fidelity, as well as of 
his righteousness and holiness, and feel little inward 
complacency of soul in the view : it may be, with 
respect to any lively impressions, as if it were the 
contemplation merely of a common object. It may 
seem to you as if you had lost all idea of those im. 
portant words, though the view has sometimes swal- 
lowed up your whole soul in transports of astonish- 
ment, admiration, and love. You may lose your de- 
lightful sense of the divine favor. It may be matter 
of great and sad doubt with you, whether you do in- 
deed belong to God ; and all the work of his blessed 
Spirit may be so veiled and shaded in the soul, that 
the peculiar characters by which the hand of that sa- 
cred Agent might be distinguished, shall be in a great 
measure lost ; and you may be ready to imagine you 
have only deluded yourself in all the former hopes 
you have entertained. In consequence of this, those 
ordinances in which you now rejoice, may grow 
very uncomfortable to you, even when you do indeed 
desire communion with God in them. You may 
hear the most delightful evangelical truths opened, 
you may hear the privileges of God's children most 



HIDINGS OF GOD'S TACE. 347 

affectionately represented, and not be aware that you 
have any part or lot in the matter ; and from that very 
coldness and insensibility may be drawing a farther 
argument that you have nothing to do with them. 
And then " your heart " may " meditate terror," (Isa. 
33 : 18,) and under the distress that overwhelms 
you, your dearest enjoyments may be reflected upon 
as adding to the weight of it, and making it more 
sensible, while you consider that you had once such 
a taste for these things, and have now lost it all. So 
that perhaps it may seem to you, that they who never 
felt any thing at all of religious impressions, are hap- 
pier than you, or at least are less miserable. You 
may, perhaps, in these melancholy hours, even doubt 
whether you have ever prayed at all, and whether 
all that you called your enjoyment of God, was not 
some false delight, excited by the great enemy of 
souls, to make you apprehend that your state was 
good, that so you might continue his more secure 
prey. 

5. Such as this may be your case for a conside- 
rable time ; and ordinances may be attended in vain, 
and the presence of God may be in vain sought in 
them. You may pour out your soul in private, and 
then come to public worship, and find little satisfac- 
tion in either, but be forced to take up the Psalmist's 
complaint, " My God, I cry in the day-time, but 
thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am 
not silent:" (Psalm 22: 2,) or that of Job, "Behold, 



348 HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 

I go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, 
but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where 
he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth 
himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.' 
Job, 23 : 8, 9. So that all which looked like religion 
in your mind, shall seem as it were to be melted 
into grief, or chilled into fear, or crushed into a deep 
sense of your own unworthiness ; in consequence of 
which, you shall dare not so much as lift up your 
eyes before God, and be almost ashamed to take 
your place in a worshipping assembly among any 
that you think his servants. I have known this to 
be the case of some excellent Christians, whose im- 
provements in religion have been distinguished, and 
whom God hath honored above many of their 
brethren in what he hath done for thern, and by 
them. Give me leave, therefore, having thus de- 
scribed it, to offer you some plain advice with regard 
to it ; and let not that be imputed to enthusiastic 
fancy which proceeds from an intimate and frequent 
view of facts on the one hand, and from a sincere 
affectionate desire on the other, to relieve the tender, 
pious heart, in so desolate a state. At least I am 
persuaded the attempt will not be overlooked or dis- 
approved by '■ the great Shepherd of the sheep," 
(Heb. 13 :20,) who has charged us to " comfort the 
feeble-minded." 1 Thess. 5:14. 

6. And here I would first advise you most care- 
fully to inquire whether your present distress does 



HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 349 

indeed arise from causes which are truly spiritual, 
or whether it may not rather have its foundation in 
some disorder of the body, or in the circumstances 
of life in which you are providentially placed, which 
may break your spirits and deject your mind. The 
influence of the inferior part of our nature on the 
nobler, the immortal spirit, while we continue in 
this embodied state, is so evident, that no attentive 
person can, in the general, fail to observe it ; and 
yet there are cases in which it seems not to be suf- 
ficiently considered ; and perhaps your own may be 
one of them. The state of the blood is often such 
as necessarily to suggest gloomy ideas, even in 
dreams, and to indispose the soul for taking plea- 
sure in any thing ; and when it is so, why should 
it be imagined to proceed from any peculiar divine 
displeasure, if the soul does not find its usual delight 
in religion? Or why should God be thought to 
have departed from us, because he suffers natural 
causes to produce natural effects, without interposing, 
by miracle, to break the connection ? When this is 
the case, the help of the physician is to be sought, 
rather than that of the divine ; or at least, by all 
means, together with ii ; and medicine, diet, exer- 
cise and air, may in a few weeks effect what the 
strongest reasonings, the most pathetic exhortations 
or consolations might for many months have at- 
tempted in vain. 

7. In other instances, the dejection and feebleness 

qq R. & Progress. 



350 HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 

of the mind may arise from something uncomforta- 
ble in our worldly circumstances. These may cloud 
as well as distract the thoughts, and imbittter the tem- 
per, and thus render us in a great degree unfit for 
religious services and pleasures; and when it is so, 
the remedy is to be sought in submission to Divine 
Providence, in abstracting our affections as far as 
possible from the present world, in a prudent care to 
ease ourselves of the burden so far as we can, by mo- 
derating unnecessary expenses, and by diligent ap- 
plication to business, in humble dependence on the 
divine blessing ; in the mean time, endeavoring, by 
faith, to look up to him who sometimes suffers his 
children to be brought into such difficulties, that he 
may endear himself more sensibly to them by the 
method he shall take for their relief. 

8. On the principles here laid down, it may per- 
haps appear, on inquiry, that the distress complained 
of may have a foundation very different from what 
was at first supposed. But where the health is sound, 
and the circumstances easy ; when the animal spirits 
are disposed for gayety and entertainment, while all 
taste for religious pleasure is in a manner gone ; 
when the soul is seized with a kind of lethargic in- 
sensibility, or what I had almost called a paralytic 
weakness with respect to every religious exercise, 
even though there should not be that deep terrifying 
distress, or pungent amazement, which I before re- 
presented as the effect of melancholy, nor that anxiety 



351 



about the accommodations of life which strait cir- 
cumstances naturally produce ; I would in that case 
vary my advice, and urge you, with all possible at- 
tention and impartiality, to search into the cause 
which has brought upon you that great evil under 
which you justly mourn. And probably, in the gen- 
eral, the cause is sin — some secret sin, which has not 
been discovered or observed by the eye of the world ; 
for enormities that draw on them the observation and 
censure of others, will probably fall under the case 
mentioned in the former chapter, as they must be in- 
stances of known and deliberate guilt. Now the eye 
of God hath seen these evils which have escaped the 
notice of your fellow-creatures; and in consequence 
of this care to conceal them from others, while you 
could not but know they w r ere open to him, God has 
seen himself in a peculiar manner affronted and in- 
jured, I had almost said insulted by them ; and hence 
his righteous displeasure. Oh ! let that never be for- 
gotten, which is so plainly said, so commonly known, 
so familiar to almost every religious ear, yet too lit- 
tle felt by any of our hearts, " Your iniquities have 
separated between you and your God, and your sins 
have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." 
Isaiah 59 : 1, 2. And this is, on the whole, a mer- 
ciful dispensation of God, though it may seem severe: 
regard it not, therefore, merely as your calamity, 
but as intended to awaken you, that you may not 
content yourself, even with lying in tears of humili- 



352 iiidinos of god's face. 

ation before the Lord, but, like Joshua, rise and ex- 
ert yourself vigorously, to " put away from you that 
accursed thing," whatever it be. Let this be your 
immediate and earnest care, that your pride may be 
humbled, that your watchfulness may be maintained, 
that your affections to the world may be deadened, 
and that, on the whole, your fitness for heaven may 
in every respect be increased. These are the designs 
of your heavenly Father, and let it be your great 
concern to co-operate with them. 

9. Receive it therefore, on the whole, as the most 
important advice that can be given you, immediately 
to enter on a strict examination of your conscience. 
Attend to its gentlest whispers. If a suspicion arises 
in your mind that any thing has not been right, trace 
that suspicion, search into every secret folding of 
your heart : improve to the purposes of a fuller dis- 
covery the advice of your friends, the reproaches of 
your enemies; recollect for what your heart hath 
smitten you at the table of the Lord, for what it 
would smite you if you were upon a dying bed, and 
within this hourto enter on eternity. When you have 
made any discovery, note it down; and go on in 
your search, till you can say, these are the remain- 
ing corruptions of my heart, these are the sins and 
follies of my life ; this have I neglected ; this have I 
done amiss. And when the account is as complete 
as you can make it, set yourself, in the strength of 
God, to a serious reformation ; or rather begin the 



HIDINGS OF GOD $ S FACE. 353 

reformation of every thing that seems amiss, as soon 
as ever you discover it ; " return to the Almighty, 
and thou shalt be built up j put iniquity far from thy 
tabernacle, and then shalt thou have thy delight in the 
Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou 
shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear 
thee; thou shalt pay thy vows unto him, and his light 
shall shine upon thy ways." Job, 22 : 23, 26, 27. 

10. In the mean time, be waiting for God with 
the deepest humility, and submit yourself to the dis- 
cipline of your heavenly Father, acknowledging his 
justice, and hoping in his mercy ; even when your 
conscience is least severe in its remonstrances, and 
discovers nothing more than the common infirmities 
of God's people ; yet still bow yourself down before 
him, and own that so many are the evils of your best 
days, so many the imperfections of your best servi- 
ces, that by them you have deserved all, and more 
than all that you suffer: deserved, not only that 
your sun should be clouded, but that it should go 
down, and arise no more, but leave your soul in a 
state of everlasting darkness. And while the shade 
continues, be not impatient. Fret not yourself in any 
wise, but rather, with a holy calmness and gentle- 
ness of soul, "wait on the Lord." Psalm 37 : 8, 34. 
Be willing to stay his time, willing to bear his 
frown, in humble hope that he will at length " return 
and have compassion on you." Jer. 12: 15. He has 
not utterly forgotten to be gracious, nor resolved 
30* 



354 HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 

that " he will be favorable no more." Psalm 77 : 7, 9 
"For the Lord will not cast ofTfor ever; but though 
he cause grief, yet will he have compassion ac- 
cording to the multitude of his mercies." Lam. 3 : 
31, 32. It is comparatively but "for a small moment 
that he hides his face from you ; ; ' but you may hum- 
bly hope, that with great mercies he will gather you, 
and that " with everlasting kindness he will have 
mercy on you." Isaiah, 54 : 7, 8. These suitable 
words are not mine, but his; and they wear this, as 
in the very front of them, " That a soul under the 
hidings of God's face may at last be one whom he 
will gather, and to whom he will extend everlasting 
favor." 

11. But while the darkness continues, "go on in 
the way of your duty." Continue the use of means 
and ordinances : read and meditate : pray, yes, and 
sing the praises of God too, though it may be with 
a heavy heart. Follow the u footsteps of his flock," 
(Cant. 1 : 8,) you may perhaps meet the Shepherd 
of souls in doing it. Place yourself at least in his 
way. It is possible you may by this means get a 
kind look from him ; and one look, one turn oi 
thought, which may happen in a moment, may, as it 
\vere : create a heaven in your soul at once. Go to 
the table of the Lord. If you cannot rejoice, go and 
mourn there. Go and " mourn for that Savior 
whom," by your sins, "you have pierced:" (Zech. 
12 : 10.) go and lament the breaches of that cove- 



HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 355 

nant which you have there so often confirmed, 
Christ may perhaps make himself known unto you 
"in the breaking of the bread," (Luke, 24 : 35,) and 
you may find, to your surprise, that he hath been 
near you, when you imagined he was at the great- 
est distance from you ; near you, when you thought 
you were cast out from his presence. Seek your 
comfort in such enjoyments a3 these, and not in the 
vain amusements of this world, and in the pleasures 
of sense. I shall never forget that affectionate ex- 
pression, which I am well assured broke out from 
an eminently pious heart, then almost ready to break 
under its sorrows of this kind : " Lord, if I may not 
enjoy thee, let me enjoy nothing else ; but go down 
mourning after thee to the grave !" I wondered not 
to hear that, almost as soon as the sentiment had 
been breathed out before God in prayer, the burden 
was taken off] and " the joy of God's salvation re- 
stored." 

12. I shall add but one advice more, and that is, 
that "you renew your application to the blood of Je- 
sus, through whom the reconciliation between God 
and your soul has been accomplished." It is he that 
is our peace, and by his blood it is that "we are 
made nigh:" (Eph. 2 : 13, 14,) it is in him, as the 
beloved of his soul, that God declares he is well- 
pleased ; (Matt. 3 : 17,) and it is in him that "we 
are made accepted, to the glory of his grace." Eph. 
I : 6. Go, therefore, O Christian, and apply by faith 



356 HIDINGS OF GOD'S FACE. 

to a crucified Savior: go, and apply to him, as to a 
merciful high-priest, " and pour out thy complaint 
before him, and show before him thy trouble." Psalm 
142 : 2. Lay open the distress and anguish of thy 
soul to him, who once knew what it was to say, 
(O astonishing, that He should ever have said it !) 
"My God ! my God f why hast thou forsaken me? 7 ' 
Matt. 27 : 46. Look up for pity and relief to him, 
who himself suffered, being not only tempted, but, 
with regard to sensible manifestations, deserted, that 
he might thus know how to pity those that are in 
such a melancholy case, and be ready, as well as able, 
"to succor them." Heb. 2 : 18. "He is Immanuel, 
God with us," (Matt. 1 : 23,) and it is only in and 
through him that his Father shines forth upon us 
with the mildest beams of mercy and of love. Let it 
be therefore your immediate care to renew your ac- 
quaintance with him. Review the records of his life 
and death ; and when you do so, surely you will 
feel a secret sweetness diffusing itself over your soul. 
You will be brought into a calm, gentle, silent 
frame, in which faith and love will operate powerful- 
ly, and God may probably cause M the still small 
voice" of his comforting Spirit to be heard, ( 1 Kings, 
19 : 12,) till your soul burst out into a song of praise, 
and you are " made glad according to the days in 
which you have been afflicted." Psalm 90 : 15. In 
the mean time, such language as the following sup- 
plication speaks, may be suitable. 



HIDINGS OF GOD's FACE. 357 

An tumble Supplication for one under the Hidings of God's 
Face. 

"Blessed God! 'with thee is the fountain of 
life' and of happiness. Psalm 36: 9. I adore thy 
name that I have ever tasted of thy streams ; that 
I have ever had the peculiar pleasure arising - from 
the light of thy countenance, and the shedding 
abroad of thy love in my soul. But alas ! these de- 
lightful seasons are now to me no more ; and the re- 
membrance of them engages me to ' pour out my 
soul within me.' Psalm 42 : 4. I would come, as I 
have formerly done, and call thee, with the same en- 
dearment,' my Father and my God;' but alas! I 
know not how to do it. Guilt and fears arise, and 
forbid the delightful language. I seek thee, O Lord ! 
but I seek in vain. I would pray, but my lips are 
sealed up. I would read thy word, but all the pro- 
mises of it are veiled from mine eyes. I frequent 
those ordinances which have been formerly most 
nourishing and comfortable to my soul, but, alas ! 
they are only the shadows of ordinances: the sub- 
stance is gone : the animating spirit is fled, and 
leaves them now, at best, but the image of what I 
once knew them. 

" But, Lord, hast ' thou cast ofTfor ever, and wilt 
thou be favorable no more ?' Psalm 77 : 7. Hast 
thou in awful judgment determined that my soul 
must be left to a perpetual winter, the sad emblem 



358 iDiNcs or cod s face. 

of eternal darkness ? Indeed, I deserve it shoul be 
so. I acknowledge, O Lord ! I deserve to be cast 
away from thy presence with disdain, to be sunk 
lower than I am, much lower: I deserve to have 
'the shadow of death upon my eyelids,' (Job, 16: 
16,) and even to be surrounded with the thick gloom 
of the infernal prison. But hast thou not raised mul- 
titudes, who have • deserved, like me, to be delivered 
into chains of darkness,' (2 Pet. 2 : 4,) to the vision 
of thy glory above, where no cloud can ever inter- 
pose between thee and their rejoicing spirits?' 
' Have mercy upon me, O Lord ! have mercy upon 
me !' Psalm 123 : 3. And though my iniquities have 
now justly 'caused thee to hide thy face from me,' 
(Isa. 59 : 2,) yet be thou rather pleased, agreeably 
to the gracious language of thy word, ' to hide thy 
face from my sins, and to blot out all my iniquities.' 
Psalm 51:9. Cheer my heart with the tokens of 
thy returning favor, and * say unto my soul, I am 
thy salvation !' Psalm 35 : 3. 

" Remember, O Lord God ! remember that dread- 
ful day, in which Jesus thy dear Son endured what 
my sins have deserved ! Remember that agony, in 
which he poured out his soul before thee and said. 
4 My God ! My God ! why hast thou forsaken me V 
Matt. 27 : 46. Did he not, O Lord ! endure all this, 
that humble penitents might, through him, be brought 
near unto thee, and might behold thee with pleasure, 
us their Father and their God ? Thus do I desire to 



HIDINGS OF GOD S FACE. 359 

come unto thee. Blessed Savior, art thou not ap- 
pointed ' to give unto them that mourn in Zion, beau • 
ty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the 
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness V Isa. 
61:3. O wash away my tears, anoint my head with 
4 the oil of gladness, and clothe me with the garments 
of salvation.' Isa. 61 : 10. 

" 'O that I knew where I might find thee !' Job, 
23 : 3. O that I knew what it is that hath engaged 
thee to depart from me ! I am ' searching and try- 
ing my ways.' Lam. 3 : 40. O that thou wouldst 
' search me, and know my heart ; try me, and know 
my thoughts ;' and if ' there be any wicked way in 
me,' discover it, and ' lead me in the way everlasting ;' 
(Psalm 139 : 23, 24,) in that way in which I may 
find rest and peace 4 for my soul,' (Jer. 6 : 16,) and 
feel the discoveries of thy love in Christ ! 

" O God ! ' who didst command the light to shine 
out of darkness,' (2 Cor. 4 : 6,) speak but the word, 
and light shall dart into my soul at once ! ' Open thou 
my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise,' 
(Psalm 51 : 15,) shall burst out into a cheerful song, 
which shall display, before those whom my present 
dejections may have discouraged, the pleasures and 
supports of religion. 

," Yet, Lord, on the whole, I submit to thy will. 
If it is thus that my faith must be exercised, by walk- 
ing in darkness for days, and months, and years to 
come, how long soever lliey may seem, how long so 



360 HIDINGS OF GODS FACE. 

ever they may be, I submit. Still will I adore thee 
ns the 4 God of Israel,' and the Savior, though 'thou 
art a God that hidest thyself.' Isaiah, 45 : 15. Still 
will I ' trust in the name of the Lord, and stay my 
self upon my God,' (Isaiah, 1 : 10,) ' trusting in thee, 
though thou slay me,' (Job. 13 : 15,) and 'waiting 
for thee, more than they that watch for the morning, 
yea, more than they that watch for the morning ' 
Psalm 130: 6. Peradventure 'in the evening time 
it may be light.' Zech. 14 : 7. I know thou hast 
sometimes manifested thy compassion to thy dying 
servants, and given tnem, in the lowest ebb of their 
natural spirits, a full tide of divine glory ; thus turn 
ing 'darkness into light before them.' Isa. 42 : 15 
So may it please thee to gild ■ the Valley of the Sha- 
dow of Death' with the light of thy presence, when 
I am passing it, and to stretch forth ' thy rod and thy 
staff to comfort me,' (Psalm 23 : 4,) that my trem- 
blings may cease, and the gloom may echo with songs 
of praise ! But if it be thy sovereign pleasure, that 
distress and darkness should still continue to the last 
motion of my pulse, and the last gasp of my breath, 
O let it cease with the parting struggle, and bring 
me to that light which is sown for the righteous, and 
to that gladness which is reserved ' for the upright 
in heart;' (Psalm 97 : 11,) to the unclouded regions 
of everlasting splendor and joy, where the full anoint- 
ings of thy Spirit shall be poured out upon all thy 
people, and thou wilt no more ' hide thy face from 
any of them ! ; Ezek. 39 : 29. 



STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 361 

"This, Lord, is ' thy salvation for which I am 
waiting,' (Gen. 49 : 18,) and whilst I feel the de- 
sires of my soul drawn out after it, I will never des- 
pair of obtaining- it. Continue and increase those 
desires, and at length satisfy and exceed them am 
4 through the riches of thy grace in Christ Jesus i 
Amen" 



CHAPTER XXV. 



THE CHRISTIAN STRUGGLING UNDER GREAT AND HEAVY AFFLICTION- 

I. Here it is advised — that afflictions should be expected. — 2 ; 
That the righteous hand of God should be acknowledged, in 
them -when they come. — 3. That they should be borne withpa~ 
ticncc. — 4. That the divine conduct in them should be cordial- 
ly approved. — 5. That thanlcj ulness should be maintained in 
the midst of trials. — 6. That the design of afflictions should 
be diligently inquired into, and all proper assistance taken in 
discovering it. — 7. That, when it is discovered, it should 
humbly be complied with and answered. A prayer suited to 
such a case. 

1. Since " man is born unto trouble, as the sparks 
fiy upward," (Job, 5 : 7,) and Adam has entailed on 
all his race the sad inheritance of calamity in their 
way to death, it will certainly be prudent and neces- 

o j R. & Progress, 



362 STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 

sary that we should all expect to meet with triais 
unci afflictions; and that you, reader, whoever you 
are, should be endeavoring to gird on your armor, 
and put yourself in a posture to encounter those tri- 
als which will fall to your lot as a man and a Chris- 
tian. Prepare yourself to receive your afflictions, 
and to endure them, in a manner agreable to both 
these characters. In this view, when you see others 
under the burden, consider how possible it is that you 
may be called out to the very same difficulties, or to 
others equal to them. Put your soul as in the place 
of theirs. Think how you oould endure the load 
under which they lie, and endeavor at once to com- 
fort them, and to strengthen your own heart, or ra 
ther pray that God would do it. And observing how 
liable mortal life is to such sorrows, moderate your 
expectations from it ; raise your thoughts above it ; 
and form your schemes of happiness only for that 
world where they cannot be disappointed; in thu 
mean time, blessing God that your prosperity is 
lengthened out thus far, and ascribing it to his spe- 
cial providence that you continue so long unwound- 
ed, when so many showers of arrows are flying 
around you, and so many are falling by them, on 
the right hand and on the left. 

2. When at length your turn comes, as it certainly 
will, from the first hour in which an affliction seizes 
you, realize to yourself the hand of God in it, and 
lose not the view of him in any second cause, w ! 






STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 3G3 

may have proved the immediate occasion. Let it be 
your first care to " humble yourself under the mighty 
hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." 
1 Pet. 5 : 6. Own that " he is just in all that is 
brought upon you," (Neh. 9 : 33,) and that in all 
.hese things " he punishes you less than your ini- 
quities deserve." Ezra, 9 : 13. Compose yourself 
to bear his hand with patience, to glorify his name 
by a submission to his will, and to fall in with the 
gracious design of his visitation, as well as to wail 
the issue of it quietly, whatsoever the event may be. 
3. Now, that " patience may have its perfect 
work," (James 1 : 4,) reflect frequently, and deeply, 
upon your own un worthiness and sinfulness. Con- 
sider how often every mercy has been forfeited, and 
every judgment deserved. And consider, too, how 
long the patience of God hath borne with you, ana 
how wonderfully it is still exerted towards you ; and 
indeed not only his patience, but his bounty too. 
Afflicted as you are, (for I speak to you now as ac- 
tually under the pressure,) look around and survey 
your remaining mercies, and be gratefully sensible 
of them. Make the supposition of their being re- 
moved : what if God should stretch out his hand 
against you, and add poverty to pain, or pain to po- 
verty, or the loss of friends to both, or the death of 
surviving friends to that of those whom you aie 
now mourning over ; would not the wound be more 
grievous? Adore his goodness that this is not the 



364 STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 

case ; and take heed lest your unthankfulness should 
provoke him to multiply your sorrows. Considei 
also the need you have of discipline, how whole- 
some it may prove to your soul, and what merciful 
designs our Heavenly Father has in all the correc- 
tions he sends upon his children. 

4. Nay, I will add, that, in consequence of all 
these considerations, it may be well expected, not 
only that you should submit to your afflictions, as 
what you cannot avoid, but that you should sweetly 
acquiesce in them, and approve them ; that you 
should not only justify, but glorify God in sending 
them ; that you should glorify him with your heart 
and with your lips too. Think not praises unsuita- 
ble on such an occasion ; nor that praise alone to be 
suitable, which takes its rise from remaining com- 
forts ; but know that it is your duty, not only to be 
thankful in your afflictions, but to be thankful on 
account of them. 

5. God himself hath said, " in every thing give 
thanks," (1 Thess. 5 : 18,) and he has taught his 
servants to say, " Yea, also we glory in tribulation." 
Rom. 5 : 3. And most certain it is, that to true be- 
lievers, afflictions are tokens of divine mercy ; for 
" whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourg- 
eth every son whom he receiveth," with peculiar and 
distinguishing endearment. Heb. 12:6. View your 
present afflictions in this light, as chastisements of 
love; and then let your own heart say, whether love 



STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 365 

does not demand praise. Think with yourself, " it is 
thus that God is making me conformable to his own 
Son; it is thus that he is training me up for com- 
plete glory. Thus he kills my corruptions ; thus he 
strengthens my graces ; thus he is wisely contriving 
to bring me nearer to himself, and to ripen me for 
the honors of his heavenly kingdom, It is, if need 
be, that ' I am in heaviness,' (1 Pet. 1:6,) and he 
surely knows what that need is better than I can 
pretend to teach him, and knows what peculiar pro- 
priety there is in this affliction to answer my present 
necessity, and to do me that peculiar good which he 
is graciously intending me by it. This tribulation 
shall ' work patience, and patience experience, and 
experience' a more assured 'hope,' even a hope 
which 'shall not make ashamed,' while the love ot 
God is shed abroad in my heart, (Rom. 5 : 3, 5,) 
and shines through my affliction, like the sun 
through a gentle descending cloud, darting in light 
upon the shade, and mingling fruitfulness with 
weeping." 

6. Let it be then your earnest care, while you 
thus look on your affliction, whatever it may be, as 
coming from the hand of God, to improve it to the 
purposes for which it was sent. And that you may 
so improve it, let it be your first concern to know 
what those purposes are. Summon up all the atten- 
tion of your soul to bear the rod, and him " who 
hath appointed it," (Mic. 6 : 9,) and prav earnestly 
31* 



366 STRUGGLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 

that you may understand its voice. Examine your 
life, your words and your heart ; and pray that God 
would so guide your inquiries, that you may " re- 
turn unto the Lord that smiteth you." Isaiah, 9:13. 
To assist you in this, call in the help of pious friends, 
and particularly of your minister: entreat not only 
their prayers, but their advice too, as to the probable 
design of Providence ; and encourage them freely 
to tell you any thing which occurs to their minds 
upon this head. And if such an occasion should 
lead them to touch upon some of the imperfections of 
vour character and conduct look upon it as a great 
token of their friendship, and take it, not only pa- 
tiently, but thankfully. It does but ill become a 
Christian, at any time, to resent reproofs and admoni- 
tions; and least of all does it become him, when the 
rebukes of his Heavenly Father are upon him. He 
ought rather to seek admonitions at such a time as 
this, and voluntarily offer his wounds to be searched 
by a faithful and skillful hand. 

7. And when, by one means or another, you have 
got a ray of light to direct you in the meaning and 
language of such dispensations, take heed that you 
do not, in any degree, " harden yourself against God, 
and walk contrary to him." Lev. 26 : 27. Obstinate 
reluctance to the apprehended design of any provi- 
dential stroke, is inexpressibly provoking to him. 
Set yourself, therefore, to an immediate reformation 
of whatever you discover amiss, and labor to learn 



PRAYER UNDER AFFLICTION. 3G7 

the general lessons of greater submission to God's 
will, of a more calm indifference to the world, and 
of a closer attachment to divine converse, and to the 
views of an approaching invisible state. And what- 
ever particular proportion or correspondence you 
may observe between this or that circumstance in 
your affliction and your former transgressions, be 
especially careful to act according to that more pe- 
culiar and express voice of the rod. Then you may 
perhaps have speedy and remarkable reasons to say, 
that " it hath been good for you that you have 
been afflicted," (Psalm 119: 71,) and, with a multi- 
tude of others, may learn to number the times of your 
sharpest trials among the sweetest and most exalted 
moments of your life. For this purpose, let prayer 
be your frequent employment ; and let such senti- 
ments as these, if not in the very same terms, be often 
and affectionately poured out before God. 

An humble Address to God under the Pressure of heavy 
Affliction. 

" O thou Supreme, yet all-righteous and gracious 
Governor of the whole universe ! mean and incon- 
siderable as this little province of thy spacious em- 
pire may appear, thou dost not disregard the earth 
and its inhabitants, but attendest to its concerns with 
the most condescending and gracious regard. ' Thou 
reignest, and I rejoice in it;' as it is indeed 'matter 
of universal joy.' Psalm 97 : I. I believe thy uni- 



368 PRAYER UNDER AFFLICTION. 

versal providence and care ; and I firmly believe thy 
wise, holy, and kind interposition in every thing 
which relates to me and to the circumstances of my 
abode in this world. I would look through all infe- 
rior causes unto thee, whose eyes are upon all thy 
creatures ; to thee, ' who formest light and createst 
darkness :' who ' makest peace and createst evil ;' 
(Isaiah, 45 : 7,) to thee, Lord, who at thy pleasure 
canst exchange the one for the other, canst turn the 
brightest noon into midnight, and the darkest mid- 
night into noon ! 

" O thou wise and merciful Governor of the world' 
I have often said, ' Thy will be done ;' and now, thy 
will is painful to me. But shall I upon that account 
unsay what I have so often said % ' God forbid !' I 
come rather to lay myself down at thy feet, and to 
declare my full and free submission to all thy sacred 
pleasure. O Lord ! thou art just and righteous in all ! 
I acknowledge, in thy venerable and awful presence, 
that ' I have deserved this,' and ten thousand times 
more. Ezra, 9:13. I acknowledge that ' it is of thy 
mercy that I am not utterly consumed,' (Lam. 3 : 22,) 
and that any, the least degree, of comfort yet re- 
mains. O Lord ! I most readily confess that the 
sins of one day of my life have merited all these 
chastisements ; and that every day of my life has 
been more or less sinful. Smite, therefore, O thou 
Righteous Judge ! and I will still adore thee, that, 
instead of the scourge, thou hast not given a commis- 



PRAYER UNDER AFFLICTION. 369 

sion to the sword, to do all the dreadful work of jus- 
tice, and to pour out my blood in thy presence. 
"But shall I speak unto thee only as my Judge? 

Lord ! thou hast taught me a tenderer name : 
thou condescendest to call thyself my Father, and to 
speak of correction as the effect of thy love. O wel- 
come, welcome, those afflictions which are the to- 
kens of thy paternal affection, the marks of my adop- 
tion into thy family ! Thou knowest what discipline 

1 need. Thou seest, O Lord ! that bundle of folly 
which there is in the heart of thy poor, froward, and 
thoughtless child, and knowest what rods and what 
strokes are needful to drive it away. I would there- 
fore ' be in humble subjection to the Father of spi- 
rits,' who 'chastened me for my profit;' would 'be in 
subjection to him and live.' Heb. 12 : 9, 10. I 
would bear thy strokes, not merely because I can- 
not resist them, but because I love and trust in thee. 
I would sweetly acquiesce and rest in thy will, as well 
as stoop to it ; and would say, ' Good is the word of 
the Lord ;' (2 Kings, 20 : 19,) and I desire that not 
only my lips, but my soul may acquiesce. Yea, 
Lord, I would praise thee, that thou wilt show so 
much regard to me as to apply such remedies as 
these to the diseases of my mind, and art thus kindly 
careful to train me up for glory. I have no objection 
against being afflicted, against being afflicted in this 
particular way. ' The cup which my Father puts 
into my hand, shall I not drink it?' John, 18 : 11. 



370 STRL'C CLING UNDER AFFLICTION*. 

By thine assistance and support I will. Only be pleas 
ed, O Lord ! to stand by me, and sometimes to gran' 
me a favorable look in the midst of my sufferings '. 
Support my soul, I beseech thee, by thy consolations 
mingled with my tribulations, and I shall glory in 
those tribulations that are thus allayed ! It has been 
the experience of many, who have reflected on af- 
flicted days with pleasure, and have acknowledged 
that their comforts have swallowed up their sorrows. 
And after all that thou hast done, • are thy mercies 
restrained?' Isaiah, 63 : 15. 'Is thy hand waxed 
short?' Numb. 11 : 25. Or canst thou not do the 
same for me? 

" If my heart be less tender, less sensible, thou 
canst cure that disorder, and canst make this afflic- 
tion the means of curing it. Thus let it be ; and at 
length, in thine own due time, and in the way 
which thou shalt choose, work out deliverance 
for me, 'and show me thy marvellous loving-kindness, 
thou that savest by thy right hand them that put 
their trust in thee !' Psalm 17:7. For I well know, 
that how dark soever this night of affliction may 
seem, if thou sayest, ' Let there be light,' there shall 
be light. But I would urge nothing before the time 
thy wisdom and goodness shall appoint. I am much 
more concerned that my afflictions may be sanctified, 
than that they may be removed. Number me, O 
God ! among the happy persons whom, whilst thou 
chastenest, thou • teachest out of thy law !' Psalm 



STRUGOLING UNDER AFFLICTION. 371 

94 : 12. Show me, I beseech thee, « wherefore thoa 
contendest with me,' (Job, 10 : 2,) and purify me 
by the fire, which is so painful to me while I am 
passing through it ? Dost thou not chasten thy 
children for this very end, ' that they may be parta- 
kers of thy holiness?' Heb. 12 : 10. Thou know- 
eat, O God ! it is this my soul is breathing after. I 
am partaker of thy bounty every day and moment 
of my life: I am partaker of thy Gospel, and I 
hope, in some measure too, a partaker of the grace 
of it operating on my heart. O may it operate 
more and more, that I may largely partake of thine 
holiness too ; that I may come nearer and nearer 
io the temper of my mind to thee, O blessed God ! 
the supreme model of perfection ! Let my soul be, 
as it were, melted, though with the intensest heat of 
the furnace, if I may but thereby be made fit for 
being delivered into the mold of the Gospel, and 
bearing thy bright and amiable image ! 

" Lord, ' my soul longeth for thee ; it crieth out 
for the living God !' Psalm 84 : 2. In thy presence, 
and under the support of thy love, I can bear any 
thing; and am willing to bear it, if I may grow more 
lovely in thine eyes, and more meet for thy king- 
dom. The days of my affliction will have an end ; 
the hour will at length come, when thou ' wilt 
wipe away all my tears.' Rev. 21:4. ' Though it 
tarry,' I would ' wait for it.' Heb. 2 : 3. My foolish 
heart, in the midst of all its trials, is ready to grow 



372 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

fond of this earth, disappointing and grievous as it 
is; and graciously, O God, dost thou deal with me, 
in breaking those bonds that would tie me faster to 
it. O let my soul be girding itself up, and, as it 
were, stretching its wings in expectation of that 
jlessed hour when it shall drop all its sorrows and 
incumbrances at once, and soar away, to expatiate 
with infinite delight in the regions of liberty, peace 
and joy. Amen. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



THE CHRISTIAN ASSISTED IN EXAMINING INTO HIS GROWTH IN 

GRACE. 

1. The examination important. — 2. False marks of growth to 
be avoided. — 3. True marks proposed; such as — increas- 
ing love to God. — 4. Benevolence to men. — 5. Candor of dis- 
position. — 6. Meekness under injuries. — 7. Serenity amidst 
the uncertainties of life. — 8. Humility, — especially as ex- 
pressed in evangelical exercises of mind toicard Christ and 
the Holy Spirit. — 10. Zeal for the divine honor. — 11. 
Habitual and cheerful willingness to exchange vwrlds when 
ever God sluill appoint. — 12. Conclusion. The Christian 
breathing after growth in grace. 

1. If by divine grace you have " been born again, 
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible," (1 Pet. 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 373 

1 : 2, 3,) even "by that word of God which liveth 
and abideth for ever," not only in the world and the 
church, but in particular souls in which it is sown ; 
you will, " as new born babes, desire the sincere 
milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." 1 
Pet. 2 : 2. And though in the most advanced state 
of religion on earth, we are but infants in compari- 
son to what we hope to be, when, in the heavenly 
world, we arrive " unto a perfect man, unto the 
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," (Ep. 
4 : 13,) yet, as we have some exercise of a sancti- 
fied reason, we shall be solicitous that we may be 
growing and thriving. And you, my reader, " if so 
be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, (1 
Pet. 2 : 3,) will, I doubt not, feel this solicitude. I 
would, therefore, endeavor to assist you in making 
the inquiry, whether religion be on the advance in 
your soul. And here I shall warn you against 
gome false marks of growth, and then shall endea- 
vor to lay down others on which you may depend 
as more solid. In this view I would observe, that 
you are not to measure your growth in grace only 
or chiefly by your advances in knowledge, or in 
zeal, or any other passionate impression of the mind, 
no, nor by the fervor of devotion alone ; but by the 
habitual determination of the will for God, and by 
your prevailing disposition to obey his commands, 
submit to his disposal, and promote the highest wel- 
fare of his cause in the earth. 

go R. & Progress 



374 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

2. It must be allowed that knowledge and affec- 
tion in religion are indeed desirable. Without some 
degree of the former, religion cannot be rational ; 
and it is very reasonable to believe, that without 
some degree of the latter it cannot be sincere, in 
creatures whose natures are constituted like ours. 
Yet there may be a great deal of speculative 
knowledge, and a great deal of rapturous affection, 
where there is no true religion at all ; and still more, 
where religion exists, though there be no advanced 
state of it. The exercise of our rational faculties, 
upon the evidences of divine revelation, and upon 
the declaration of it as contained in Scripture, may 
furnish, a very wicked man with a well-digested body 
of orthodox divinity in his head, when not one single 
doctrine of it has ever reached his heart. An elo- 
quent description of the sufferings of Christ, of the 
solemnities of judgment, of the joys of the blessed, 
and the miseries of the damned, might move the 
breast even of a man who did not firmly believe 
them ; as we often find ourselves strongly moved by 
well-wrought narrations or discourses, which at the 
same time we know to have their foundation in fic- 
tion. Natural constitution, or such accidental causes 
as are (some of them) too low to be here mentioned, 
may supply the eyes with a flood of tears, which 
may discharge itself plenteously upon almost any 
occasion that shall first arise. And a proud impa- 
tience of contradiction, directly opposite as it is to the 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 375 

gentle spirit of Christianity, may make a man's blood 
boil when he hears the notions he has entertained, 
and especially those which he has openly and vigo- 
rously espoused, disputed and opposed. This may 
possibly lead him, in terms of strong indignation, to 
pour out his zeal and his rage before God, in a fond 
conceit, that, as the God of truth, he is the pattern 
of those favorite doctrines by whose fair appear- 
ances perhaps he himself is misled. And if these 
speculative refinements, or these affectionate sallies 
of the mind, be consistent with a total absence of 
true religion, they are much more apparently con- 
sistent with a very low state of it. I would desire to 
lead you, my friend, into sublimer notions and juster 
marks, and refer you to other practical writers, and, 
above all, to the book of God, to prove how material 
they are. I would therefore entreat you to bring 
your own heart to answer, as in the presence of 
God, such inquiries as these : 

3. Do you find " divine love, on the whole, advanc- 
ing in your soul ?" Do you feel yourself more and 
more sensible of the presence of God 1 and does that 
sense grow more delightful to you than it formerly 
was ? Can you, even when your natural spirits are 
weak and low, and you are not in any frame for the 
ardors and ecstacies of devotion, nevertheless find a 
pleasing rest, a calm repose of heart, in the thought 
that God is near you, and that he sees the secret sen- 
timents of your soul, while you are, as it were, la- 



376 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

boring up the hill, and casting a longing eye toward 
him, though you cannot say you enjoy any sensi- 
ble communications from him? Is it agreeable to 
you to open your heart to his inspection and regard, 
to present it to him laid bare of every disguise, and 
say with David, " Thou, Lord, knowest thy ser- 
vant?" 2 Sam. 7 : 20. Do you find a growing es- 
teem and approbation of that sacred law of God, 
which is the transcript of his moral perfections ? Do 
you inwardly " esteem all his precepts concerning 
all things to be right?" Psalm 119: 128. Do you 
discern, not only the necessity, but the reasonable- 
ness, the beauty, the pleasure of obedience : and feel 
a growing scorn and contempt of those things which 
may be offered as the price of your innocence, and 
would tempt you to sacrifice or hazard your interest 
in the divine favor and friendship ? Do you rind 
an ingenuous desire to please God, not only because 
he is so powerful, and has so many good and so ma- 
ny evil things entirely at his command, but from a 
veneration of his most amiable nature and charac- 
ter ? and do you find your heart habitually recon- 
ciled to a most humble subjection, both to his com- 
manding and to his disposing will ? Do you per- 
ceive that your own will is now more ready and 
disposed, in every circumstance, to bear the yoke, 
and to submit to the divine determination, whatever 
he appoints to be borne or forborne ? Can you u in 
patience possess your soul ?" Luke, 21 : 19. Can 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 377 

you maintain a more steady calmness and serenity, 
when God is striking at your dearest enjoyments in 
this world, and acting most directly contrary to your 
present interests, to your natural passions and de- 
sires ! If you can, it is a most certain and noble sign 
that grace is growing up in you to a very vigorous 
state. 

4. Examine also, " what affections you find in 
your heart toward those who are about you, and to- 
ward the rest of mankind in general." Do you find 
your heart overflow with undissembled and unre- 
strained benevolence ? Are you more sensible than 
you once were, of those most endearing bonds which 
unite all men, and especially all Christians, into one 
community ; which make them brethren and fellow- 
citizens ? Do all the unfriendly passions die and 
wither in your soul, while the kind, social affections 
grow and strengthen ? And though self-love was 
never the reigning passion since you became a true 
Christian ; yet, as some remainders of it are still too 
ready to work inwardly, and to snow themselves 
especially as sudden occasions arise, do you perceive 
that you are getting ground of them ? Do you think 
of yourself only as one of a great number, whose par- 
ticular interests and concerns are of little impor- 
tance when compared with those of the community, 
and ought by all means, on all occasions, to be sa- 
crificed to them ? 

5. Reflect especially " on the temper of your mind 

32* 



378 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

toward those whom an unsanctified heart might be 
ready to imagine it had some just excuse for except- 
ing out of the list of those it loves, and from whom 
you are ready to feel some secret alienation or aver- 
sion." How does your mind stand affected toward 
those who differ from you in their religious senti- 
ments and practices? I do not say that Christian 
charity will require you to think every error harm- 
less. It argues no want of love to a friend, in some 
cases, to fear lest his disorder should prove more fa- 
tal than he seems to imagine : nay, sometimes the 
very tenderness of friendship may increase that ap- 
prehension. But to hate persons because we think 
they are mistaken, and to aggravate every difference 
in judgment or practice into a fatal and damnable 
error that destroys all Christian communion and 
love, is a symptom generally much worse than the 
evil it condemns. Do you love the image of Christ 
in a person who thinks himself obliged in con- 
science to profess and worship in a manner different 
from yourself? Nay, farther, can you love and honor 
that which is truly amiable and excellent in those 
in whom much is defective ; in those in whom there 
is a mixture of bigotry and narrowness of spirit, 
which may lead them perhaps to slight, or even to 
censure you? Can you love them as the disciples 
and servants of Christ, who, through a mistaken zeal, 
may be ready to " cast out your name as evil," (Luke 
6 : 22,) and to warn others against you as a dange- 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 379 

rous person ? This is none of the least triumphs of 
charity, nor any despicable evidence of an advance 
in religion. 

6. And, on this head, reflect farther, " How can 
you bear injuries'?" There is a certain hardness of 
soul in this respect, which argues a confirmed state 
in piety and virtue. Does every thing of this kind 
hurry and ruffle you, so as to put you on contri- 
vances how you may recompense, or, at least, how 
you may disgrace and expose him who has 
done you the wrong? Or can you stand the shock 
calmly, and easily divert your mind to other objects, 
only (when you recollect these things) pitying and 
praying for those who with the worst tempers and 
views are assaulting you? This is a Christ-like 
temper indeed, and he will own it as such; will 
own you as one of his soldiers, as one of his heroes ; 
especially if it rises so far, as, instead of being 
"overcome of evil, to overcome evil with good." 
Rom. 12 : 21. Watch over your spirit and over 
your tongue, when injuries are offered, and see 
whether you be ready to meditate upon them, to ag- 
gravate them in your own view, to complain of them 
to others, and to lay on all the load of blame that 
you in justice can ; or, whether you be ready to put 
the kindest construction upon the offence, to excuse 
it as far as reason will allow, and (where, after all, 
it will wear a black and odious aspect) to forgive it, 
heartily to forgive it, and that even before any sub- 



380 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

mission is made, or pardon asked ; and in token 
of the sincerity of that forgiveness, to be contriving 
what can be done, by some benefit or other, toward 
the injurious person, to teach him a better temper. 

7. Examine farther, " with regard to other evils 
and calamities of life, and even with regard to its 
uncertainties, how you can bear them." Do you 
find your soul is in this respect gathering strength? 
Have you fewer foreboding fears and disquieting 
alarms than you once had, as to what may happen 
in life? Can you trust the wisdom and goodness of 
God to order your affairs for you, with more com- 
placency and cheerfulness than formerly ? Do you 
find yourself able to unite your thoughts more in 
surveying present circumstances, that you may col- 
lect immediate duty from them, though you know 
not what God will next appoint or call you to? And 
when you feel the smart of affliction, do you make 
a less matter of it ? Can you transfer your heart 
more easily to heavenly and divine objects, without 
an anxious solicitude whether this or that burden be 
removed, so it may but be sanctified to promote your 
communion with God and your ripeness for glory ? 

8. Examine also, " whether you advance in hu- 
mility." This is a silent but most excellent grace; 
and they who are most eminent in it, are dearest to 
God, and most fit for the communications of his pre- 
sence to them. Do you then feel your mind more 
emptied of proud and haughty imaginations, not 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 381 

prone so much to look back upon past services 
which it has performed, as forward to those which 
are yet before you, and inward upon the remaining 
imperfections of your heart? Do you more tenderly 
observe your daily failures and miscarriages, and 
find yourself disposed to mourn over those things 
before the Lord, that once passed with you as slight 
matters, though, when you come to survey them as 
in the presence of God, you find they were not 
wholly involuntary or free from guilt? Do you feel 
in your breast a deeper apprehension of the infinite 
majesty of the blessed God, and of the glory of his 
natural and moral perfections, so as, in consequence 
of these views, to perceive yourself as it were anni- 
hilated in his presence, and to shrink into "less than 
nothing, and vanity?" Isaiah, 40 : 17. If this be 
your temper, God will look upon you with peculiar 
favor, and will visit you more and more with the 
distinguishing blessings of his grace. 

9. But there is another great branch and effect of 
Christian humility, which it would be an unpardon- 
able negligence to omit. Let me therefore farther in- 
quire, are you more frequently renewing your applica- 
tion, your sincere, steady, determined application, to 
the righteousness and blood of Christ, as being sen- 
sible how unworthy you are to appear before God 
otherwise than in him? And do the remaining cor- 
ruptions of your heart humble you before him, though 
the disorders of your life are in a great measure 



382 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

cured ? Are you more earnest to obtain the quick- 
ening influences of the Holy Spirit ? And have you 
such a sense of your own weakness as to engage 
you to depend, in all the duties you perform, upon 
the communications of his grace to 4( help your infir- 
mities ?" Rom. 8 : 26. Can you, at the close of your 
most religious, exemplary, and useful days, blush 
before God for the deficiencies of them, while others 
perhaps may be ready to admire and extol your 
conduct? And while you give the glory of all that 
has been right to him from whom the strength and 
grace has been derived, are you coming to the 
blood of sprinkling, to free you from the guilt which 
mingles itself even with the best of your services ? 
Do you learn to receive the bounties of Providence, 
not only with thankfulness, as coming from God, 
but with a mixture of shame and confusion toe, un- 
der a consciousness that you do not deserve them, 
and are continually forfeiting them ? And do you 
justify Providence in your afflictions and disappoint- 
ments, even while many are flourishing around you 
full in the bloom of prosperity, whose offences have 
been more visible at least, and more notorious than 
yours ? 

10. Do you also advance "in zeal and activity" 
for the service of God and the happiness of mankind? 
Does your love show itself solid and sincere, by a 
continual flow of good works from it? Can you 
view the sorrows of others with tender compassion, 



GROWTH IN GRACE. 383 

and with projects and contrivances what you may 
do to relieve them % Do you feel in your breast that 
you are more frequently " devising liberal things," 
(Isaiah, 32 : 8,) and ready to waive your own ad- 
vantage or pleasure that you may accomplish them ? 
Do you find your imagination teeming, as it were, 
with conceptions and schemes for the advancement 
of the cause and interest of Christ in the world, for 
the propagation of his Gospel, and for the happiness 
of your fellow-creatures ? And do you not only 
pray, but act for it ; act in such a manner as to show 
that you pray in earnest, and feel a readiness to do 
what little you can in this cause, even though others, 
who might, if they pleased, very conveniently do a 
vast deal more, will do nothing % 

1 1. And, not to enlarge upon this copious head, re- 
flect once more, " how your affections stand with re- 
gard to this world and another." Are you more deeply 
and practically convinced of the vanity of these 
"things which are seen, and are temporal?" 2 Cor. 
4 : 18. Do you perceive your expectations from 
them, and your attachments to them to diminish ? You 
are willing to stay in this world as long as your Fa- 
ther pleases ; and it is right and well ; but do you 
find your bonds so loosened to it, that you are wil- 
ling, heartily willing, to leave it at the shortest 
warning ; so that if God should see fit to sum- 
mon you away on a sudden, though it should be 
in the midst of your enjoyments, pursuits, expec- 



384 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

tations, and hopes, you would cordially consent to 
that remove without saying, " Lord, let me stay a 
little while longer, to enjoy this or that agreeable 
entertainment, to finish this or that scheme?" Can 
you think, with an habitual calmness and hearty 
approbation, if such be the divine pleasure, of wak- 
ing no more when you lie down on your bed, of re- 
turning home no more when you go out of your 
house? And yet on the other hand, how great soev- 
er the burdens of life are, do you find a willingness to 
bear them, in submission to the will of your hea- 
venly Father, though it should be to many future 
years, and though they should be years of far great- 
er affliction than you have ever yet seen ? Can you 
say calmly and steadily, if not with such overflow- 
ings of tender affection as you could desire, "Be- 
hold, 'thy servant,' thy child is 'in thine hand, do 
with me as seemeth good in thy sight!' 2 Sam. 15: 
26. My will is melted into thine; to be lifted up or 
laid down, to be carried out or brought in, to be here 
or there, in this or that circumstance, just as thou 
pleasest, and as shall best suit with thy great exten- 
sive plan, which it is impossible that I, or all the 
angels in heaven, should mend." 

12. These, if I understand matters aright, are 
some of the most substantial evidences of growth 
and establishment in religion. Search after them . 
bless God for them, so far as you discover them in 
yourself, and study to advance in them daily, un- 



GROWTH IN GRACE 385 

der the influences of divine grace; to which I hear- 
tily recommend you, and to which I entreat you 
frequently to recommend yourself. 

77ie Christian breathing earnestly after growth in Grace. 

u O thou ever-blessed Fountain of natural and 
spiritual life ! I thank thee that I live, and know 
the exercises and pleasures of a religious life. I 
bless thee that thou hast infused into me thine own 
vital breath, though I was once • dead in trespasses 
an-d sins,' (Eph. 2 : 1,) so that I am become, in a 
sense peculiar to thine own children, ' a living soul.' 
Gen. 2 : 7. But it is my earnest desire that I may 
not only live but grow, ' grow in grace, and in the 
knowledge. of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,' 
(2 Pet. 3 : IS,) upon an acquaintance with whom my 
progress in it so evidently depends. In this view, I 
humbly entreat thee that thou wilt form my mind to 
right notions in religion, that I may not judge of 
grace by any wrong conceptions of it, nor measure 
my advances in it by those things which are merely 
the effects of nature, and possibly its corrupt effects ! 

" May I be seeking after an increase of divine 
bve to thee, my God and Father in Christ, of unre- 
served resignation to thy wise and holy will, and oi 
extensive benevolence to my fellow-creatures ! May 
I grow in patience and fortitude of soul, in humility 
and zeal, in spirituality and a heavenly disposition 
of mind, and in a concern, 'that, whether present o? 

go B« & Progress. 



386 GROWTH IN GRACE. 

absent, I may be accepted of the Lord,' (2 Cor. 5 : 9,) 
that whether I live or die, it may be for thy glory. 
In a word, as thou knowest I hunger and thirst af- 
ter righteousness, make me whatever thou wouldst 
delight to see me ! Draw on my soul, by the gentle 
influences of thy gracious Spirit, every trace, and 
every feature, which thine eye, Heavenly Father, 
may survey with pleasure, and which thou mayest 
acknowledge as thine own image. 

,! I am sensible, O Lord, I have not as yet attain- 
ed, yea, my soul is utterly confounded to think how 
far I am from being already perfect ; but this one 
thing (after the great example of thine apostle) I 
would endeavor to do : ' forgetting the things which 
are behind, I w r ould press forward to those which 
are before.' Phil. 3 : 12, 13. O that thou wouldst 
feed my soul by thy word and Spirit ! Having been, 
as I humbly hope and trust, regenerated by it, 'be- 
ing born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in- 
corruptible, even by thy word, which liveth and abid- 
eth for ever;' (1 Pet. 1 : 23,) 'as a new-born babe, 
I desire the sincere milk of the word, that I may 
grow thereby-' 1 Pet. 2 : 2. And may ' my profiting 
appear unto all men,' (1 Tim. 4 : 15,) till at length 
' I come unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
of the stature of the fullness of Christ,' (Eph. 4: 13,) 
and after having enjoyed the pleasure of those that 
fiourish eminently in thy courts below, be fixed in the 
paradise above ! I ask and hope it through our Lord 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 387 

and Savior Jesus Christ ;' { to him be glory, botb 
now and for ever !' 2 Pet. 3 : 18.- Amen." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE ADVANCED CHRISTIAN REMINDED OF THE MERCIES OF GOD, 
AND EXHORTED TO THE EXERCISE OF HABITUAL LOVE TO HTM, 
AND JOY IN HIM. 

1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty. — 2. 
The Christian invited to the exercise of it. — 3. By the consid- 
er atiou of temporal mercies. — 4. And of spiritual favors. — 
5. By the views of eternal happiness. — 6. And of the mer- 
cies of God to others, the living and the dead. — 7. The chap- 
ter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And 
with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful jov 
in pod. 

1. I would now suppose my reader to find, on an 
examination of his spiritual state, that he is growing 
in grace. And if you desire that this growth may at 
once be acknowledged and promoted, let me call your 
soul " to that more affectionate exercise of love to 
God and joy in him," which suits, and strengthens, 
and exalts the character of the advanced Christian ; 
and which I beseech you to regard, not only as your 
privilege, but as your duty too. Love is the most 
sublime, generous principle, of all true and accepta- 
ble obedience; and with love, when so wisely and 



388 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

happily fixed, when so certainly returned, joy, pro- 
portionable joy, must naturally be connected. It 
may justly grieve a man that enters into the spirit of 
Christianity, to see how low a life even the generality 
of sincere Christians commonly live in this respect; 
" Rejoice then in the Lord, ye righteous, and give 
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness," (Psalm 
97 : 12,) and of all those other perfections and glo- 
ries which are included in that majestic, that won- 
derful, that delightful name, The Lord thy God'. 
Spend not your sacred moments merely in confession 
or in petition, though each must have their daily 
share ; but give a part, a considerable part, to the ce- 
lestial and angelic work of praise. Yea, labor to 
carry about with you continually, a heart overflow- 
ing with such sentiments, warmed and inflamed 
with such affections. 

2. Are there not continually rays enough diffused 
from the great Father of light and love to enkindle it 
in our bosom? Come, my Christian friend and bro- 
ther, come and survey with me the goodness of our 
heavenly Father. And oh ! that he would give me 
such a sense of it, that I might represent it in a suit- 
able manner, that " while I am musing, the fire may 
burn " in my own heart, (Psalm 39 : 3,) and be 
communicated to yours ! And oh ! that it might 
pass, with the lines I write, from soul to soul, awa- 
kening in the breast of every Christian that reads 
them, sentiments more worthy the children of God 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 389 

and the heirs of glory, who are to spend an eternity 
in those sacred exercises to which I am rfow endea- 
voring to excite you. 

3. Have you not reason to adopt the words of Da- 
vid, and say, " How many are thy gracious' thoughts 
unto me, O Lord ! How great is the sum of them ! 
When I would count them, they are more in num- 
ber than the sand." Psalm 139: 17,18. You in- 
deed know where to begin the survey, for the favors 
of God to you began with your being. Commemo- 
rate it therefore with a grateful heart, that the eyes 
which " saw your substance, being yet imperfect," 
beheld you with a friendly care '* when you were 
made in secret," and have watched over you ever 
since ; and that the hand which " drew the plan of 
your members, when as yet there was none of them," 
(Psalm 139 : 15, 16,) not only fashioned them at 
first, but from that time has been concerned in 
11 keeping all your bones, so that none of them is 
broken," (Psalm 34 : 20,) ancfr that, indeed, it is to 
this you owe it that you live. Look back upon the 
path you have trod, from the day that God brought 
you out of the womb, and say whether you do not, 
as it were, see all the road thick set with the marks 
and memorials of the divine goodness. Recollect the 
places where you have lived, and the persons with 
whom you heve most intimately conversed, and call 
to mind the mercies you have received in those pla- 
ces, and from those persons, as the instruments of 
33* 



390 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

the divine care and goodness. Recollect the difficui 
ties and dangers with which you have been sur- 
rounded, and reflect attentively on what God hath 
done to defend you from them, or to carry you 
through them. Think how often there has been 
but a step between you and death, and how sudden- 
ly God has sometimes interposed to set you in safety, 
even before you apprehended your danger. Think 
of those chambers of illness in which you have been 
confined ; and from whence, perhaps, you once 
thought you should go forth no more ; but said, with 
Hezekiah, in the cutting off of your days, " I shall go 
to the gates of the grave : I am deprived of the residue 
of my years." Isaiah, 38 : 10. God has, it may be, 
since that time, added many years to your life ; and 
you know not how many are in reserve, or how much 
usefulness and happiness may attend each. Survey 
your circumstances in relative life; how many kind 
friends are surrounding you daily, and studying how 
they may contributed your comfort. Reflect on 
those remarkable circumstances in Providence, 
which occasioned the knitting of some bonds of this 
kind, which, next to those which join your soul to 
God, you number among the happiest. And forget 
not in how many instances, when these dear lives 
have been threatened, lives perhaps more sensibly 
dear than your own, God has given them back from 
the borders of the grave, and so added new endear- 
ments, arising from that tender circumstance, to all 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 391 

your after converse with them. Nor forget, in how 
gracious a manner he hath supported some others in 
their last moments, and enabled them to leave be- 
hind a sweet odor of piety, which hath embalmed 
their memories, revived you when ready to faint un- 
der the sorrows of the last separation, and, on the 
whole, made even the recollection of their death de- 
lightful. 

4. But it is more than time that I lead on your 
thoughts to the many spiritual mercies which God 
has bestowed upon you. Look back, as it were, to 
" the rock from whence you were hewn, and to the 
hole of the pit from whence you were digged." 
Isaiah, 1:1. Reflect seriously on the state wherein 
divine grace found you : under how much guilt, un- 
der how much pollution! in what danger, in what 
ruin ! Think what was, and think with yet deep- 
er reflection, what would have been the case ! The 
eye of God, which penetrates into eternity, saw what 
your mind, amused with the trifles of the present 
time and sensual gratification, was utterly ignorant 
and regardless of: it saw you on the borders of eter- 
nity, and pitied you ; saw T that y r ou would in a little 
time have been such a helpless, wretched creature as 
the sinner that is just now dead, and has, to his infi- 
nite surprise and everlasting terror, met his unex- 
pected doom ; and would, like him, stand thunder- 
struck in astonishment and despair. This God saw, 
and he pitied you ; and being merciful to you, he 



392 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

provided, in the counsel of his eternal love and grace, 
a Redeemer for you, and purchased you to himself, 
through the blood of his Son : a price which, if you 
will pause upon it, and think seriously what it was, 
must surely affect you to such a degree as to make 
you to fall down before God in wonder and shame, 
to think it should ever have been given for you. To 
accomplish these blessed purposes, he sent his grace 
into your heart; so that, though "you were once 
darkness, you are now light in the Lord." Eph. 
5:8. He made that happy change which you now 
feel in your soul, and " by his Holy Spirit, which is 
given to you," he shed abroad that principle of love 
(Rom. 5 : 5,) which is enkindled by this review, 
and now flames with greater ardor than before. 
Thus far he hath supported you in your Christian 
course, and " having obtained help from him," it is 
that you continue even to this day. Acts, 26 : 22. 
He hath not only blessed you, but " made you a bless- 
ing;" (Gen. 12 : 2.) and though you have not been 
so useful as that holy generosity of heart which he 
has excited would have engaged you to desire, yet 
some good you have done in the station in which he 
has fixed you. Some of your brethren of mankind 
have been relieved ; perhaps, too, some thoughtless 
creature reclaimed to virtue and happiness by his 
blessing on your endeavors. Some in the way to 
heaven are praising God for you ; and some, per- 
haps, already there, are longing for your arrival, 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 393 

that they may thank you, in nobler and more expres- 
sive forms, for benefits, the importance of which they 
now sufficiently understand, though while here, they 
could never conceive it. 

5. Christian, look around on the numberless bless- 
ings, of one kind and of another, with which you 
are already encompassed ; and advance your pros- 
pect still farther, to what faith yet discovers within the 
veil. Think of those now unknown transports with 
which thou shalt drop every burden in the grave ; 
and thine immortal spirit shall mount, light and joy- 
ful, holy and happy, to God, its original, its support, 
and its hope; to God, the source of being, of holiness, 
and of pleasure ; to Jesus, through whom all these 
blessings are derived to thee, and who will appoint 
thee a throne near to his own, to be for ever a spec- 
tator and partaker of his glory. Think of the rap- 
ture with which thou shalt attend his triumph in the 
resurrection-day, and receive this poor, moldering, 
corruptible body, transformed into his glorious im- 
age ; and then think, " These hopes are not mine 
alone, but the hopes of thousands and millions. Mul- 
titudes, whom I number among the dearest of my 
friends upon the earth, are rejoicing with me in 
these apprehensions and views ; and God gives me 
sometimes to see the smiles on their cheeks, the 
sweet, humble hope that sparkles in their eyes and 
shines through the tears of tender gratitude, and to 
hear that little of their inward complacency and joy 



394 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

which language can express. Yea, and multitudes 
more, who were once equally dear to me with these, 
though I have laid them in the grave, and wept 
over the dust, are living to God, living in the posses- 
sion of inconceivable delights, and drinking large 
draughts of the water of life, which flows in perpetu- 
al streams at his right hand." 

6. O Christian ! thou art still intimately united 
and allied to them. Death cannot break a friendship 
thus cemented, and it ought not to render thee insen- 
sible of the happiness of those friends for whose 
memory thou retainest so just an honor. They 
live to God as his servants ; they " serve him and 
see his face," (Rev. 22 : 3, 4,) and they make but a 
small part of that glorious assembly. Millions, 
equally worthy of thine esteem and affection with 
themselves, inhabit those blissful regions ; and wilt 
thou not rejoice in their joy ? And wilt thou not 
adore that everlasting spring of holiness and happi- 
ness from whence each of their streams is derived ? 
Yea, I will add, while the blessed angels are so 
kindly regarding us, while they are ministering to 
thee, O Christian ! and bearing thee in their arms, 
"as rn heir of salvation," (Heb. 1: 14,) wilt thou 
not rejoice in their felicity too 1 And wilt thou not 
adore that God who gives them all the superior 
glory of their more exalted nature, and gives them 
a heaven, which fills them with blessedness even 
while they seem to withdraw from it, that they may 
attend on thee 1 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 395 

7. This, and infinitely more than this the blessed 
God is, and was, and shall ever be. The felicities 
of the blessed spirits that surround his throne, and 
thy felicities, O Christian ! are immortal. These 
heavenly luminaries shall glow with an undecaying 
flame, and thou shalt shine and burn among them 
when the sun and the stars are gone out. Still shall 
the unchanging Father of lights pour forth his beams 
upon them ; and the lustre they reflect from him. 
and their happiness in him, shall be everlasting, shall 
be ever growing. Bow down, O thou child of God, 
thou heir of glory ; bow down, and let all that is 
within thee unite in one act of grateful love ; and let 
all that is around thee, all that is before thee in the 
orospects of an unbounded eternity, concur to ele- 
vate and transport thy soul, that thou mayest, as far 
as possible, begin the work and blessedness of hea- 
ven, in falling down before the God of it, in opening 
thine heart to his gracious influences, and in breath- 
ing out before him that incense of praise which 
these warm beams of his presence and loVehave so 
great a tendency 10 produce, and to ennoble with a 
fragrancy resembling that of his paradise above. 

T*e grateful Soul rejoicing in the Blessings of Providence 
and Grace, and pouring out itself before God in vigorovs 
and affectionate Exercises of hove and Praise. 

' ; O my God, it is enough ! I have mused, and ■ the 
tire humeth!' Psalm 39:3. But oh! in what 



306 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

language shall the flame break forth ? What can I 
Ray but this, that my heart admires thee, and adores 
thee, and loves thee ? My little vessel is as full as 
it can hold; and I would pour out all that fullness 
before thee, that it may grow capable of receiving 
more and more. Thou art • my hope and my help ; 
my glory, and the lifter up of my head.' Psalm 3 : 3. 
4 My heart rejoiceth in thy salvation ;' (Psalm 1 3 : 5.) 
and when I set myself under the influences of thy 
good Spirit to converse with thee, a thousand delight- 
ful thoughts spring up at once; a thousand sources 
of pleasure are unsealed, and flow in upon my soul 
with such refreshment and joy, that they seem to 
crowd into every moment the happiness of days, and 
weeks, and months. 

" I bless thee, O God, for this soul of mine which 
thou hast created ; which thou hast taught to say, 
and I hope to the happiest purpose, ' Where is God 
my Maker !' Job, 35: 10. I bless thee for the know- 
ledge with which thou hast adorned it. I bless thee 
for that grace with which I trust I majr (not without 
humble wonder) say, thou hast sanctified it ; though, 
alas! the celestial plant is fixed in too barren a soil, 
and does not flourish to the degree I couid wish. 

11 1 bless thee also for that body which thou hast 
qiven me, and which thou preservest as yet in its- 
strength and vigor, not only capable of relishing the 
entertainments which thou providest for its various 
senses, but (which I esteem far more valuable than- 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 397 

any of them for its own sake) capable of acting with 
some vivacity in thy service. I bless thee for that 
ease and freedom with which these limbs of mine 
move themselves, and obey the dictates of my spirit, 
I hope as guided by thine. I bless thee that ' the 
keepers of my house do not tremble, nor the strong- 
men bow themselves ;' that they ' that look out of 
the windows are not yet darkened, nor the daugh- 
ters of music brought low.' I bless thee, O God of 
my life ! that ' the silver cord is not yet loosed, nor 
the golden bowl broken;' (Eccl. 12: 3, 4, 6,) for it 
is thine hand that braces all my nerves, and thine 
infinite skill that prepares those spirits that flow in 
so freely; and when exhausted, recruit so soon and 
so plentifully. I praise thee for that royal bounty 
with which thou providest for the daily support of 
mankind in general, and for mine in particular ; for 
the various tables which thou spreadest before me, 
and for the overflowing cup which thou 'puttest into 
my hands.' Psalm 23 : 5. I bless thee that these 
bounties of thy providence do not serve, as it were, to 
upbraid a disabled appetite, and are not « like messes 
of meat set before the dead.' I bless thee too, that 
I ■ eat not my morsel of meat alone,' Job, 31 : 17,) 
but share it with so many agreeable friends, who add 
the relish of a social life to that of the animal, at our 
seasons of common repast. I thank thee for so ma 
ny dear relatives at home, for so many kind friends 
abroad, who are capable of serving me in various 

34 R. & Progress. 



398 GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 

instances, and disposed to make an obliging use of 
that capacity. 

" Nor would I forget to acknowledge thy favor in 
rendering me capable of serving others, and giving 
me in any instance to know how much ' more bless- 
ed it is to give than to receive.' Acts, 20 : 35. I 
thank thee for a heart which feels the sorrows of the 
necessitous, and a mind which can make it my early 
care and refreshment to contrive, according to my 
little ability, for their relief; for • this also cometh 
forth from thee, O Lord !' (Isaiah, 28 : 29,) the great 
Author of every benevolent inclination, of every pru- 
dent scheme, of every successful attempt to spread 
happiness around us, or in any instance to lessen 
distress. 

" And surely, O Lord, if I thus acknowledge the 
pleasures of sympathy with the afflicted, much more 
must I bless thee for those of sympathy with the hap- 
py, with those that are completely blessed. I adore 
thee for the streams that water Paradise, and main- 
tain it in ever-flourishing, ever-growing delight. I 
praise thee for the rest, the joy, the transport, thou 
art giving to many that were once clear to me on 
earth, whose sorrows it was my labor to soothe, and 
whose joys, especially in thee, it was the delight of 
my heart to promote. I praise thee for the blessed- 
ness of every saint, and of every angel that sur- 
rounds thy throne above ; and I praise thee, with 
accents of distinguished pleasure for that reviving 



GRATEFUL JOY IN GOD. 399 

hope which thou hast implanted in my bosom, that 
I shall, ere long, know, by clear sight, and by ever- 
lasting experience, what that felicity of theirs is 
which I now only discover at a distance, through 
the comparatively obscure glass of faith. Even now, 
through thy grace, do I feel myself borne forward 
by thy supporting arm to those regions of blessed- 
ness. Even now am I ' waiting for thy salvation,' 
(Gen. 49: 18,) with thnt ardent desire, on the one 
hand, which its sublime greatness cannot but inspire 
into the believing soul, and that calm resignation on 
the other, which the immutability of thy promise 
establishes. 

" And now, O my God, what shall I say unto 
thee ? what, but that I love thee above all the pow- 
ers of language to express ! That I love thee for what 
thou art to thy creatures, who are, in their various 
forms, every moment deriving being, knowledge 
and happiness from thee, in numbers and degrees 
far beyond what my narrow imagination can con- 
ceive. But, oh ! 1 adore and love thee yet far more 
for what thou art in thyself; for those stores of per- 
fection which creation has not diminished, and which 
can never be exhausted by all the effects of it which 
thou impartest to thy creatures ; that infinite perfec- 
tion which makes thee thine own happiness, thine 
own end; amiable, infinitely amiable and venerable, 
were all derived excellence and happiness forgot. 

" thou first, thou greatest, thou fairest of all ob- 



400 GRATEFUL JOY IN COD. 

jccts ! thou only great, thou only fair, possess all my 
soul ! And surely thou dost possess it. While I 
thus feel thy sacred Spirit breathing on my heart, and 
exciting these fervors of love to thee, I cannot doubt 
it any more than I can doubt the reality of this ani- 
mal life, while I exert the actings of it, and feel its 
sensations. Surely, if ever I knew the appetite of 
hunger, my soul ' hungers after righteousness, 
(Matt. 5 : 6,) and longs for a greater conformity to 
thy blessed nature and holy will. If ever my palate 
felt thirst, ' my soul thirsteth for God, even for the 
living God,' (Psalm 42: 2,) and panteth for the 
more abundant communication of his favor. If ever 
this body, when wearied with labor or journies, knew 
what it was to wish for the refreshment of my bed, 
and rejoice to rest there, my soul, with sweet acqui- 
escence, rests upon thy gracious bosom, O my hea- 
venly Father, and returns to its repose in the em- 
braces of its God, ' who hath dealt so bountifully 
with it.' Psalm 116 : 7. And if ever I saw the face 
of a beloved friend with, complacency and joy, I re- 
joice in beholding thy face, O Lord, and in calling 
thee my Father in Christ. Such thou art, and such 
thou wilt be, for time and for eternity. What have I 
more to do, but to commit myself to thee for both 1 
Leaving it to thee to ' choose my inheritance,' and 
to order my affairs for me, (Psalm 47 : 4.) while 
all my business is to serve thee, and all my delight to 
praise thee. • My soul follows hard after God,' be- 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 401 

cause 'his light hand upholds me.' Psalni63: 8. 
Let it stiJl bear me up, and 1 shall press on toward 
thee, till all my desires be accomplished in the eter- 
nal enjoyment of thee ! Amen ' 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 



THE ESTABLISHED CHRISTIAN URGED TO EXERT HIMSELF FOR PUR- 
POSES OF USEFULNESS. 

1,2. A sincere love to God will express itself not only in devo- 
tion, hut in benevolence to men. — 3. This is the command of 
God. — 1 The true Christian feels his soul wrought to a holy 
conformity to it. — 5. And therefore will desire instruction on 
this head. — 6. Accordingly, directions are given for the voir- 
provemcnt of various talents: particularly genius and learn- 
ing. — 7. Power. — 8. Domestic authority. — 9. Esteem. — 10. 
Riches. — 1 1 . Several good ways of employing them hinted aL 
— 12, 13. Prudence in expense urged, for the support of cha- 
rity. — 14. Divine direction in this respect to be sought. The 
Christian breathing after more extensive usefulness. 

1. Such as I have described in the former chap- 
ter, I trust, are and will be the frequent exercises of 
your soul before God. Thus will your love and 
gratitude breathe itself forth in the divine presence, 
and will, through Jesus the great Mediator, come up 
34* 



402 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

before it as incense, and yield an acceptable savor. 
But then, you must remember, this will not be the 
only effect of that love to God which I have supposed 
so warm in your heart. If it be sincere, it will not 
spend itself in words alone, but will discover itself in 
actions, and will produce, as its genuine fruit, an un- 
feigned love to your fellow-creatures, and an unwea- 
ried desire and labor to do them good continually. 

2. " Has the great Father of mercies," will you 
say, " looked upon me with so gracious an eye 1 has 
he not only forgiven me ten thousand offences, but 
enriched me with such a variety of benefits? what 
shall I render to him for them all ? Instruct me, O 
ye oracles of eternal truth ! Instruct me, ye elder 
brethren in the family of my heavenly Father ! In- 
struct me, above all, O thou Spirit of wisdom and 
love ! what I may be able to do, to express my love 
to the great eternal fountain of love, and to approve 
my fidelity to him who has already done so much to 
engage it, and who will take so much pleasure in 
owning and rewarding it!" 

3. This, O Christian ! is the command which we 
have heard from the beginning, and it will ever con- 
tinue in unimpaired force, " that he who loveth God," 
should "love his brother also," (1 John, 4: 21,) 
and should express that love, " not in word and pro- 
fession alone, but in deed and in truth." 1 John, 3 : 
18. You are to love your neighbor as yourself; to 
love the whole creation of God ; and, so far as your 
influence cap fxtend, must endeavor to make it happy. 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 403 

4. " Yes," will you not say, and " I do love it. I 
feel the golden chain of divine love encircling us all, 
and binding us close to each other, joining us in one 
body, and diffusing, as it were, one soul through all. 
May happiness, true and sublime, perpetual and 
ever-growing happiness, reign through the whole 
world of God's rational and obedient creatures in 
heaven and on earth ! And may every revolted 
creature, that is capable of being recovered and re- 
stored, be made obedient! Yea, may the necessary 
punishment of those who are irrecoverable, be over- 
ruled by infinite wisdom and love to the good of the 
whole!" 

5. These are right sentiments, and if they are in- 
deed the sentiments of your heart, O reader ! and 
not an empty form of vain words, they will be at- 
tended with a serious concern to act in subordination 
to this great scheme of divine Providence, according 
to your abilities in their utmost extent. And to this 
purpose, they will put you on surveying the peculiar 
circumstances of your life and being, that you may 
discover what opportunities of usefulness they now 
afford, and how those opportunities and capacities 
may be improved. Enter therefore into such a sur- 
vey, not that you may pride yourself in the distinc- 
tions of divine Providence or grace towards you, or, 
" having received, may glory as if you had not re- 
ceived ;" (1 Cor. 4 : 7,) but that you may deal faith- 
fully with the great Proprietor, whose steward you 



404 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

are, and by whom you are entrusted with every tal- 
ent, which, with respect to any claim from youi 
fellow-creatures, you may call your own. And here, 
11 having gifts differing according to the grace that is 
given to us," (Rom. 12 : G,) let us hold the balance 
with an impartial hand, that so we may determine 
what it is that God requires of us ; which is nothing 
less than doing the most we can invent, contrive, and 
effect, for the general good. But, oh ! how seldom 
is this estimate faithfully made ! And how much 
does the world around us, and how much do our own 
souls suffer for want of that fidelity ! 

6. Hath God given you genius and learning? It 
was not that you might amuse or deck yourself with 
it, and kindle a blaze which should only serve to 
attract and dazzle the eyes of men. It was intended 
to be the means of leading both yourself and them 
to the Father of lights. And it will be your duty, 
according to the peculiar turn of that genius and 
capacity, either to endeavor to improve and adorn 
human life, or, by a more direct application of it to 
divine subjects, to plead the cause of religion, to de- 
fend its truths, to enforce and recommend its prac- 
tice, to deter men from courses which would be dis- 
honorable to God and fatal to themselves, and to try 
the utmost efforts of all the solemnity and tenderness 
with which you can clothe your addresses, to lead 
them into the paths of virtue and happiness. 

7 Has God invested you with power, whether it 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 405 

be in a larger or smaller society ? Remember that 
this power was given you that God might be ho- 
nored, and those placed under your government, 
whether domestic or public, might be made happy. 
Be concerned, therefore, that, whether you be en- 
trusted with the rod, or the sword, it may "not be 
borne in vain." Rom 13:4. Are you a magis- 
trate ? Have you any share in the great and tre- 
mendous charge of enacting laws ? Reverence the 
authority of the supreme Legislator, the great Guar- 
dian of society : promote none, consent to none, 
which you do not in your own conscience esteem, 
in present circumstances, an intimation of his will, 
and in the establishment of Avhich you do not firmly 
believe you shall be " his minister for good." Rom. 
13 : 4. Have you the charge of executing laws ? 
Put life into them by a vigorous and strenuous exe- 
cution, according to the nature of the particular office 
you bear. Retain not an empty name of authority. 
Permit not yourself, as it w r ere, to fall asleep on the 
tribunal. Be active, be wakeful, be observant of 
what passes around you. Protect the upright and 
the innocent. Break in pieces the power of the op- 
pressor. Unveil every dishonest heart. Disgrace 
as well as defeat the wretch that makes his distin- 
guished abilities the disguise or protection of the 
wickedness which he ought rather to endeavor to 
expose, and to drive out of the world with abhor- 
rence. 



406 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

8. Arc you placed only at the head of a private 
family % Rule it for God. Administer the concerns 
of that little kingdom with the same views, and on 
the same principles, which I have been inculcating 
on the powerful and the great, if, by any unexpected 
accident, any of them should suffer their eyes to 
glance upon the passage above. Your children and 
servants are your natural subjects. Let good order 
be established among them, and keep them under a 
regular discipline. Let them be instructed in the 
principles of religion, that they may know how 
reasonable such a discipline is ; and let them be ac- 
customed to act accordingly. You cannot indeed 
change their hearts, but you may very much influ- 
ence their conduct, and by that means may preserve 
them from many snares, may do a great deal to 
make them good members of society, and may set 
them, as it were, "in the way of God's steps," 
(Psalm 85 : 13,) if peradventure passing by he 
may bless them with the riches of his grace. And 
fail not to do your utmost to convince them of their 
need of those blessings ; labor to engage them to a 
high esteem of them, and to an earnest desire of 
them, as incomparably more valuable than any thing 
else. 

9. Again, has God been pleased to raise you to 
esteem among your fellow-creatures, which is not 
always in proportion to a man's rank or possession 
in human life ? Are your counsels heard with at- 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 407 

lention ? Is your company sought? Does God 
give you good acceptance in the eyes of men, so 
that they do not only put the fairest constructions on 
your words, but overlook faults of which you are 
conscious to yourself, and consider your actions and 
performances in the most indulgent and favorable 
light ? You ought to regard this, not only as a 
favor of Providence, and as an encouragement to 
you cheerfully to pursue your duty, in the several 
branches of it, for the time to come, but also, as giv- 
ing you much greater opportunities of usefulness 
than in your present station you could otherwise 
have had. If your character has any weight in the 
world, throw it into the right scale. Endeavor to 
keep virtue and goodness in countenance. Affec- 
tionately give your hand to modest worth, where it 
seems to be depressed or overlooked ; though shin- 
ing, when viewed in its proper light, with a lustre 
which you may think much superior to your own. 
Be an advocate for truth ; be a counsellor for peace; 
be an • example of candor ; and do ail you can to 
reconcile the hearts of men, especially of good men, 
to each other, however they may differ in their opin- 
ions about matters which it is possible for good 
men to dispute. And let the caution and humility 
of your behavior, in circumstances of such superior 
eminence, and amidst so many tokens of general es- 
teem, silently reprove the rashness and haughtiness 
of those who perhaps are remarkable for little else ; 



408 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

or who, if their abilities were indeed considerable, 
must be despised, and whose talents must be in a 
great measure lost to the public, till that rashness 
and haughtiness of spirit be subdued. Nor suffer 
yourself to be interrupted in this generous and wor- 
thy course, by the little attacks of envy and calumny 
w r hich you may meet. Be still attentive to the gen- 
eral good, and steadily resolute in your efforts to 
promote it ; and leave it to Providence to guard or 
to rescue your character from the base assaults of 
malice and falsehood, which will often, without your 
labor, confute themselves, and heap upon the authors 
greater shame, or (if they are inaccessible to that) 
greater infamy, than your humanity will allow you 
to wish them. 

10. Once more, Has God blessed you with rich- 
es ? Has he placed you in such circumstances that 
you have more than you absolutely need for the 
subsistence of yourself and your family ? Remember 
your approaching account. Remember what an 
incumbrance these things often prove to men in the 
way of their salvation, and how often, according to 
our Lord's express declaration, they render it "as 
difficult to enter ir.to the kingdom of God, as it is for 
a camel to go through the eye of a needle." Matth. 
19 : 24. Let it therefore be your immediate, your 
earnest, and your daily prayer, that riches may not 
be a snare and a shame to you, as they are to "by far 
the greater part of their possessors. Appropriate, 






ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 409 

beseech you, some certain part and proportion of 
your estate and revenue to charitable uses ; with a 
provisional increase, as God shall prosper you in 
any extraordinary instance. By this means you will 
always have a fund of charity at hand ; and you will 
probably be more ready to communicate, when you 
look upon what is so deposited as not in any sense 
your own, but as already actually given away to 
those uses, though not yet affixed to particular ob- 
jects. It is not for me to say what that proportion 
ought to be. To those who have large revenues, 
and no children, perhaps a third or one half may be 
too little ; to those whose incomes are small, and 
their charge considerable, though they have some- 
thing more than is absolutely necessary, it is possi- 
ble a tenth may be too much. But pray that God 
would guide your mind ; make a trial for one year, 
on such terms as in your conscience you think will 
be most pleasing to him; and let your observations 
on that teach you to fix your proportion for the next : 
always remembering, that he requires justice in the 
first place, and alms-deeds only so far as may consist 
with that. Yet, at the same time, take heed of that 
treacherous, delusive, and, in many instances, de- 
structive imagination, "that justice to your own 
family requires that you should leave your children 
very rich ; which has perhaps cost some parsimo- 
nious parents the lives of those darlings for whom 
they laid up the portion of the poor; and what fatal 

35 R. & Progress. 



410 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

consequences of divine displeasure may attend it to 
those that yet survive, God only knows; and I heart- 
ily pray that you or yours may never learn by expe- 
rience. 

1 1. And that your heart may be yet more opened, 
and that your charity may be directed to the best pur- 
poses, let me briefly mention a variety of good uses 
which may call for the consideration ot those wnom 
God has in this respect distinguished by an ability to 
do good. To assist the hints I am to offer, look 
round on the neighborhood in which you live. 
Think how many honest and industrious, perhaps too, 
I might add, religious people, are making very hard 
shifts to struggle through life. Think what a com- 
fort that would be to them, which you might without 
any inconvenience spare from that abundance which 
God hath given you. Hearken also to any extraor- 
dinary calls of charity which may happen, especially 
those oi a public nature, and help them forward with 
yuur example, and your interest in them, which per- 
haps may be of much greater importance than the 
sum which you contribute, considered in itself. Have 
a tongue to plead for the necessitous, as well as a 
hand to relieve them ; and endeavor to discounte- 
nance those poor, shameful excuses, which covetous- 
ness often dictates to those whose art may indeed 
set some varnish on what they suggest, but so slight 
a one, that the coarse ground will appear through it. 
See how many poor children are wandering naked 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 411 

and ignorant about the streets, and in the way to all 
kinds of vice and misery ; and consider what can he 
done toward clothing some of them at least, and in- 
structing them in the principles of religion. Would 
every thriving family in a town, who are able to 
afford help on such occasions, cast a pitying eye on 
one poor family in its neighborhood, and take it un- 
der their patronage, to assist in feeding, and clothing, 
and teaching the children, in supporting it in afflic- 
tion, in defending it from wrongs, and in advising 
those that have the management of it, as circumstan- 
ces might require, how great a difference would soon 
be produced in the character and circumstances of 
the community ! Observe who are sick, that, if there 
be no public infirmary at hand to which you can in- 
troduce them, (where your contribution will yield 
the largest increase,) you may do something towards 
relieving them at home, and supplying them with ad- 
vice and medicines, as well as with proper diet and 
attendance. Consider also the spiritual necessities of 
men : in providing for which, I would particularly 
recommend to you the very important and noble cha- 
rity of assisting young persons of genius and piety 
with what is necessary to support the expense of their 
education for the ministry, in the proper course of 
grammatical or academical studies. And grudge 
not some proportion of what God hath given you, to 
those who, resigning all temporal views to minister 
to you the Gospel of Christ, have surely an equitable 



412 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

claim to be supported by you, in a capacity of render- 
ing you those services, however laborious, to which, 
for your sakes, and that of our common Lord, they 
have devoted their lives. And while you are so 
abundantly "satisfied with the goodness of God's 
house, even of his own temple," (Psalm 65 : 4,) 
have compassion on those who dwell in a desert land ; 
and rejoice to do something toward sending among 
the distant nations of the heathen world, that glorious 
Gospel which hath so long continued unknown to 
multitudes, though the knowledge of it, with becom- 
ing regard, be life everlasting. These are a few im- 
portant charities which I would point out to those 
whom Providence has enriched with its peculiar 
bounties ; and it renders gold more precious than it 
could appear in any other light, that it is capable of 
being employed for such purposes. But if you should 
not have gold to spare for them, contribute your sil 
ver ; or, as a farthing or a mite is not overlooked by 
God, when it is given from a truly generous and 
charitable heart, (Mark, 12: 42, 43,) let that be cheer- 
fully dropped into the treasury, where richer offer- 
ings cannot be afforded. 

12. And that, amidst so many pressing demands 
for charity, you may be better furnished to answer 
them, seriously reflect on your manner of living. I 
say not that God requires you should become one of 
the many poor relieved out of your income. The sup- 
port of society, as at present established, will not 



ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 413 

only permit, but require, that some persons should 
allow themselves in the elegancies and delights of 
life j by furnishing which, multitudes of poor fami- 
lies are much more creditably and comfortably sub- 
sisted, with greater advantage to themselves and 
safety to the public, than they could be, if the price 
of their labors, or of the commodities in which they 
deal, were to be given them as alms ; nor can I im- 
agine it grateful to God, that his gifts should be 
refused, as if they were meant for snares and curses 
rather than benefits. This were to frustrate the be- 
nevolent purposes of the gracious Father of mankind, 
and if carried to its rigor, would be a sort of conspi- 
racy against the whole system of nature. Let the 
bounties of Providence be used ; but let us carefully 
see to it, that it be in a moderate and prudent man- 
ner, lest, by our own folly, " that which should have 
been for our welfare become a trap." Psalm 69 : 22. 
Let conscience say, my dear reader, with regard to 
yourself, what proportion of the good things you pos- 
sess your Heavenly Father intends for yourself, and 
■what for your brethren ; and live not as if you had 
no brethren — as if pleasing yourself in all the mag- 
nificence and luxury you can devise, were the end 
for w T hich you were sent into the world. I fear this 
is the excess of the present age, and not an excess of 
rigor and mortification. Examine, therefore, your 
expenses, and compare them with your income. That 
may be shamefully extravagant in you, which may 



414 ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE. 

not only be pardonable, but commendable in another 
of superior estate. Nor can you be sure that you do 
not exceed, merely because you do not plunge your- 
self into debt, nor render yourself incapable of laying 
up any thing for your family. If you be disabled 
from doing any thing for the poor, or any thing pro- 
portionable to your rank in life, by that genteel and 
elegant way of living which you affect, God must 
disapprove of such a conduct ; and you ought, as you 
will answer to him, to retrench it. And though the 
divine indulgence will undoubtedly be exercised to 
those in whom there is a sincere principle of faith in 
Christ, and undissembled love to God and man, 
though it act not to that height of beneficence and 
usefulness which might have been attained ; yet be 
assured of this, that he, who rendereth to every one 
according to his works, will have a strict regard to 
the degrees of the goodness in the distribution of final 
rewards : so that every neglected opportunity draws 
after it an irreparable loss, which will go into eternity 
along with you. And let me add, too, that every in* 
stance of negligence indulged, renders the mind still 
more and more indolent and weak, and consequently 
more indisposed to recover the ground which has 
been lost, or even to maintain that which has been 
hitherto kept. 

13. Complain not that this is imposing hard things 
upon you. I am only directing your pleasures into 
a nobler channel ; and indeed that frugality, which 



PRAYER TO BE USEFUL. 415 

is the source of such a generosity, far from being at 
all injurious to your reputation, will rather,, among 
wise and good men, greatly promote it. But you 
have far nobler motives before you than those which 
arise from their regards. I speak to you as to a 
child of God, and a member of Christ ; as joined, 
therefore, by the most intimate union, to all the poor- 
est of those that believe in him. I speak to you as to 
an heir of eternal glory, who ought therefore to have 
sentiments great and sublime, in some proportion to 
that expected inheritance. 

14. Cast about therefore in your thoughts what 
good is to be done, and what you can do, either in 
your own person or by your interest with others ; 
and go about it with resolution, as in the name and 
presence of the Lord. And as " the Lord giveth 
wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh knowledge and 
understanding," (Pro v. 2 : 6,) go to the footstool of 
his throne, and there seek that guidance and that 
grace which may suit your present circumstances, 
and may be effectual to produce the fruits of holiness 
and usefulness, to his more abundant glory, and to 
the honor of your Christian profession. 

The established Christian breathing after more extensive 
Usefulness. 

" O bountiful Father, and sovereign Author of all 
good, whether natural or spiritual ! I bless thee for the 
various talents with which thou hast enriched so un- 



416 PRAYER TO BE USEFUL. 

deserving a creature as I must acknowledge myself 
to be. My soul is in the deepest confusion before 
thee, when I consider to how little purpose I have 
hitherto improved them. Alas! what have I done, 
in proportion to what thou mightest reasonably have 
expected, with the gifts of nature which thou hast 
bestowed upon me, with my capacities of life, with 
my time, with my talents, with my possessions, with 
my influence over others ! Alas ! through my own 
negligence and folly, I look back on a barren wilder- 
ness, where I might have seen a fruitful field, and a 
springing harvest ! Justly do I indeed deserve to be 
stripped of all, to be brought to an immediate account 
for all ; to be condemned, as in many respects un- 
faithful to thee, and to the world, and to my own 
soul ; and, in consequence of that condemnation, to 
be cast into the prison of eternal darkness ! But 
thou, Lord, hast freely forgiven the dreadful debt of 
ten thousand talents. Adored be thy name for it ! 
Accept, O Lord, accept that renewed surrender 
which I would now make of myself, and of all I 
have, unto thy service ! I acknowledge that it is 
1 of thine own that I give thee.' 1 Chron. 29 : 14. 
Make me, I beseech thee, a faithful steward for my 
great Lord ; and may I think of no separate interest 
of my own, in opposition to thine ! 

" I adore thee, O thou God of all grace ! if, while 
I am thus speaking to thee, I feel the love of thy 
creatures arising in my soul ; if I feel my heart 



PRAYER TO BE USEFUL. 417 

opening to embrace my brethren of mankind ! O 
make me thy faithful almoner, in distributing to them 
all that thou hast lodged in mine hand for their relief! 
And in determining what is my own share, may I 
hold the balance with an equal hand, and judge im- 
partially between myself and them ! The proportion 
thou allowest, may I thankfully take for myself and 
those who are immediately mine ! The rest may I 
distribute with wisdom, and fidelity, and cheerful- 
ness ! Guide my hand, O ever-merciful Father ! 
while thou dost me the honor to make me thine in- 
strument in dealing out a few of thy bounties, that I 
may bestow them where they are most needed, and 
where they will answer the best end ! And if it be 
thy gracious will, do thou ■ multiply the seed sown ;' 
(2 Cor. 9 : 10.) prosper me in my wordly affairs, 
that I may have more to impart to them that need it ; 
and thus lead me on to the region of everlasting plen- 
ty, and everlasting benevolence ! There may I meet 
with many to whom I have been an affectionate 
benefactor on earth ; and if it be thy blessed will, 
with many whom I have also been the means of 
conducting into the path to that blissful abode ! 
There may they entertain me in their habitations of 
glory ! And in time and eternity, do thou, Lord, ac- 
cept the praise of all, through Jesus Christ ; at whose 
feet I would bow ; and at whose feet, after the most 
useful course, I would at last die, with as much hu- 
mility as if I were then exerting the first act of faith 



418 DEATH WELCOMED. 

upon him, and had never had any opportunity, by 
one tribute of obedience and gratitude in the services 
of life, to approve its sincerity !" 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE CHRISTIAN REJOICING IN THE VIEWS OF DEATH AND 

JUDGMENT. 

1. Death and judgment are near: but the Christian has reason 
to welcome both. — 2. Yet nature recoils from the solemnity 
of them. — 3. An attempt to reconcile the mind to the prospect 
of death. — 4. From the considerations of the many evils that 
surround us in this mortal life. — 5. Of the remainder of sin 
which we feel within us. — 6, 7. And of the happiness which is 
immediately to succeed death. — 8. All which might make the 
Christian willing to die in the most agreeable circumstances 
of human life. — 9. The Christian has reason to rejoice in 
the prospect of judgment. — 10. Since, however axe Jul it may 
be, Christ will then come to vindicate his honor, to display his 
glory, and to triumph over his enemies. — 11. As also to com- 
plete the happiness of every believer. — 12, 13. And of the 
whole church. — The meditation of a Christian whose heart 
is viarm with these prospects. 

1. When the visions of the Lord were closing 
upon John, the beloved disciple, in the island of Pat- 
mos, it is observable that he who gave him that reve- 
lation, even Jesus, the faithful and true witness, con- 
cludes with these lively and important words : " He 



DEATH WELCOMED. 419 

who testifieth these things saith, Surely I come 
quickly :" and John answered with the greatest readi- 
ness and pleasure — " Amen, even so come, Lord Je- 
sus !" Come, as thou hast said, surely and quickly. 
And remember, O Christian ! whoever you are that 
are now reading these words, your divine Lord 
speaks in the same language to you — " Behold, I 
come quickly." Yes, very quickly will he come by 
death, to turn the key, to open the door of the grave 
for thine admittance thither, and to lead thee through 
it into the now unknown regions of the invisible 
world. Nor is it long before "the Judge who stand- 
eth at the door," (Jam. 5 : 9,) will appear also for 
universal judgment; and though, perhaps, not only 
scores, but hundreds of years will lie between that pe- 
riod and the present moment, yet it is but a very small 
point of time to him who views at once all the unmea- 
surable ages of a past and future eternity. " A thousand 
years are with him but as one day, and one day as a 
thousand years." 2 Pet. 3: 8. In both these senses, then, 
does he come quickly. And I trust you can answer, 
with a glad Amen, that the warning is not terrible or 
unpleasant to your ears ; but rather that his coming, 
his certain, his speedy coming, is the object of your 
delightful hope, and of your longing expectation. 

2. I am sure it is reasonable it should be so ; and yet 
perhaps nature, fond of life, and unwilling to part with 
a long known abode, to enter on a state to which it is 
entirely a stranger, may recoil from the thoughts of 



420 DEATH WELCOMED. 

dying ; or, struck with the awful pomp of an expiring 
and dissolving world, may look on the judgment-day 
with some mixture of terror. And therefore, my dear 
brother in the Lord, (for such I can now esteem you,) 
I would reason with you a little on this head, and 
would entreat you to look more attentively on this so- 
lemn subject ; which will, I trust, grow less disagree- 
able to you, as it is more familiarly viewed. Nay, I 
hope that, instead of starting back from it, you will 
rather spring forward toward it with joy and delight. 

3. Think, O Christian ! when Christ comes to call 
you away by death, he comes — to set you at liberty 
from your present sorrows — to deliver you from 
your struggles with remaining corruption — and to 
receive you to dwell with himself in complete holi- 
ness and joy. You shall " be absent from the body, 
and be present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5 : 8. 

4. He will indeed call you away from this world ; 
but oh ! what is this world, that you should be fond 
of it, and cling to it with so much eagerness ? How 
low are all those enjoyments that are peculiar to it, 
and how many its vexations, its snares, and its sor- 
rows ! Review your pilgrimage thus far ; and though 
you must acknowledge that " goodness and mercy 
have followed you all the days of your life," (Psalm 
23 : 6,) yet has not that very mercy itself planted 
some thorns in your path, and given you some wise 
and necessary, yet painful intimations, that l> this is 
not your rest ?" Mic. 2 : 10. Review the monuments 



DEATH WELCOMED. 421 

of your withered joys, of your blasted hopes, if there 
be yet any monuments of them remaining more than 
a mournful remembrance they have left behind in 
your afflicted heart. Look upon the graves that have 
swallowed up many of your dearest and most amia- 
ble friends, perhaps in the very bloom of life, and in 
the greatest intimacy of your converse with them, 
and reflect, that if you continue a few years more, 
death will renew his conquests at your expense, and 
devour the most precious of those that yet survive. 
View the living as well as the dead : behold the state 
of human nature under the many grievous marks of 
its apostacy from God, and say, whether a wise and 
good man would wish to continue always here. Me- 
thinks, were I myself secure from being reached by 
any of the arrows that fly around me, I could not but 
mourn to see the wounds that are given by them, 
and to hear the groans of those that are continually 
falling under them. The diseases and calamities of 
mankind are so many, and (which is most grievous 
of all) the distempers of their minds are so various, 
and so threatening, that the world appears like a hos- 
pital ; and a man whose heart is tender, is ready to 
feel his spirits broken as he walks through it and 
surveys the sad scene ; especially when he sees how 
little he can do for the recovery of those whom he 
pities. Are you a Christian ? and does it not pierce 
your heart to see how human nature is sunk in vice 
and in shame ? To see with what amazing insolence 

36 a. & Progress 



422 



DEATH WELCOMED. 



some are making themselves openly vile, and how 
the name of Christ is dishonored by too many that 
call themselves his people? To see the unlawful 
deeds and filthy practices of them that live ungodly; 
and to behold, at the same time, the infirmities, at 
least, and irregularities of those, concerning whom 
we have better hopes? And do you not wish to escape 
from such a world, where a righteous and compas- 
sionate soul must be vexed from day to day by so 
many spectacles of sin and misery ? 2 Pet. 2 : 8. 

5. Yea, to come nearer home, do you not feel 
something within you, which you long to quit, and 
which would embitter even Paradise itself? Some- 
thing which, were it to continue, would grieve and 
distress you even in the society of the blessed? Do 
you not feel a remainder of indwelling sin, the sad 
consequence of the original revolt of our nature from 
God ? Are you not struggling every day with some 
residue of corruption, or at least mourning on account 
of the weakness of your graces? Do you not often 
find your spirits dull and languid, when you would 
desire to raise them to the greatest fervor in the ser- 
vice of God ? Do you not find your heart too often 
insensible of the richest instances of his love, and 
your hands feeble in his service, even when "to will 
is present with you?" Ror.i. 7 : 18. Does not your 
life, in' its best days and hours, appear a low, unpro- 
fitable thing, when compared with what you are sen- 
sible it ought to be, and with what you wish that it 



DEATH WELCOMED. 423 

were 1 Are you not frequently, as it were, " stretch- 
ing the pinions of the mind," and saying, " O that I 
had wings like a dove, that I might fly away and be 
at rest !" Psalm 55 : 6. 

6. Should you not then rejoice in the thought, that 
Jesus comes to deliver you from these complaints? 
That he comes to answer your wishes, and to fulfill 
the largest desires of your hearts, those desires that 
he himself has inspired ? That he comes to open 
upon you a world of purity and joy ; of active, ex- 
alted, and unwearied services 1 

7. O Christian ! how often have you cast a long- 
ing eye toward those happy shores, and wished to 
pass the sea, the boisterous, unpleasant, dangerous 
sea, that separates you from them ! When your Lord 
has condescended to make you a short visit in his 
ordinances on earth, how have you blessed the time 
and the place, and pronounced it, amidst many o-ther 
disadvantages of situation, to be "the very gate of 
heaven !" Gen. 28 : 17. And is it so delightful to 
behold this gate? and will it not be much more so 
to enter into it ? Is it so delightful to receive the visits 
of Jesus for an hour? and will it not be infinitely 
more so to dwell with him for ever? " Lord," may 
you well say, " when I dwell with thee, I shall dwell 
in holiness, for thou thyself art holiness ; in love, for 
thou thyself art love : I shall dwell in joy, for thou 
art the fountain of joy, as thou art in the Father, and 
the Father in thee." John, 17: 21. Bid welcome to 



424 DEATH WELCOMED. 

his approach, therefore, to take you at your word, and 
to fulfill to you that saying of his, on which your soul 
has so often rested with heavenly peace and plea- 
sure : " Father, I will that they whom thou hast given 
me, be with me where I am, that they may behold 
my glory which thou hast given me." John, 17 : 24. 

8. Surely you may say in this view, " The sooner 
Christ comes the better." What though the residue 
of your days be cut off in the midst ? What though 
you leave many expected pleasures in life untasted, 
and many schemes unaccomplished ? Is it not 
enough, that what is taken from a mortal life, shall 
be added to a glorious eternity ; and that you shall 
spend those days and years in the presence and ser 
vice of Christ in heaven, which you might otherwise 
have spent with him and for him, in the imperfect 
enjoyment and labors of earth ? 

9. But your prospects reach, not only beyond 
death, but beyond the separate state. For with re- 
gard to his final appearance to judgment, our Lord 
says, " Surely I come quickly," in the sense illustra- 
ted before ; and so it will appear to us, if we compare 
this interval of time with the blissful eternity which 
is to succeed it; and probably, if we compare it with 
those ages which have already passed since the sun 
began to measure out to earth its days and its years. 
And will you not here also sing your part in the 
joyful anthem, " Amen ; even so come, Lord Jesus !'' 

10. It is true, Christian, it is an awful day; a day 



DEATH WELCOMED. 425 

in which nature shall be thrown into a confusion as 
yet unknown. No earthquake, no eruption of burn- 
ing mountains, no desolation of cities by devouring 
flames, or of countries by overflowing rivers or seas, 
can give any just emblem of that dreadful day, when 
11 the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved ; the 
earth also, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up ;" 
(2 Pet. 3 : 10-12,) when all nature shall flee away 
in amazement " before the face of the universal 
Judge," (Rev. 20: 11,) and there shall be a great 
cry, far beyond what was known lt in the land ol 
Egypt, when there was not a house in which there 
was not one dead." Exod. 12: 30. Your flesh may 
be ready to tremble at the view ; yet your spirit must 
surely "rejoice in God your Savior." Luke, 1 : 47. 
You may justly say, " Let this illustrious day come, 
even with all its horrors !" Yea, like the Christians 
described by the apostle, (2 Pet. 3 : 12.) you may be 
looking for, and hastening to that day of terrible 
brightness and universal doom. For your Lord will 
then come, to vindicate the justice of those proceed- 
ings which have been in many instances so much 
obscured, and because they have been obscured, have 
been also blasphemed. He will come to display his 
magnificence, descending from heaven "with a shout, 
with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of 
God," (1 Thess. 4 : 16,) taking his seat upon a 
throne infinitely exceeding that of earthly, or even of 
celestial princes, clothed with " his Father's glory 
r. p 36* 



426 DEATH WELCOMED. 

and his own," (Luke, 9 : 26,) surrounded with a 
numberless host of " shining attendants, when com- 
ing to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all 
them that believe." 2 Thess. 1 : 10. His enemies 
shall also be produced to grace his triumph. The 
serpent shall be seen there rolling in the dust, and 
trodden under foot by him and by all his servants ; 
those who once condemned him shall tremble at his 
presence ; and those who bowed the knee before hirn 
in profane mockery, shall, in wild despair, " call to 
the mountains to fall upon them, and to the rocks to 
hide them from the face of that Lamb of God," (Rev- 
6 : 16,) whom they once led away to the most inhu- 
man slaughter. 

11. O Christian ! does not your loyal heart bound 
at the thought? And are you not ready, even while 
reading these lines, to begin the victorious shout in 
which you are then to join 1 He justly expects that 
your thoughts should be greatly elevated and im- 
pressed with the views of his triumph ; but at the 
same time he permits you to remember your own 
personal share in the joy and glory of that blessed 
day; and even now he has the view before him, of 
what his power and love shall then accomplish for 
your salvation. And what shall it not accomplish ? 
He shall come to break the bars of the grave, and to 
re-animate your sleeping clay. Your bodies must 
indeed be laid in dust, and be lodged there as a tes- 
timony of God's displeasure against sin, against the 



DEATH WELCOMED. 427 

first sin that ever was committed, from the sad con- 
sequences of which the dearest of his children can- 
not be exempted. But you shall then have an ear to 
hear the voice of the Son of God, and an eye to be- 
hold the lustre of his appearance ; and shall " shine 
forth like the sun " arising in the clear heaven, 
" which is as a bridegroom coming out of his cham- 
ber." Psalm 19 : 5. Your soul shall be new dressed 
to grace this high solemnity, and be clothed, not with 
rags of mortality, but with the robes of glory ; for he 
" shall change this vile body, to fashion it like his 
own glorious body." Phil. 3: 21. And when you 
are thus royally arrayed, he shall confer public ho- 
nors on you, and on all his people, before the assem- 
bled world. You may now perhaps be loaded with 
infamy, called by reproachful names, and charged 
with crimes, or with views which your very soul 
abhors ; but he will " then bring forth your right- 
eousness as the light," (Psalm 37 : 6,) " and your 
salvation as a lamp that burneth." Isa. 62 : 1. 
Though you have been dishonored by men, you 
shall be acknowledged by God ; and though treated 
" as the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all 
things," (1 Cor. 4 : 13,) he will show that he regards 
you " as his treasure, in the day that he makes up 
his jewels." Mai. 3:17. When he shall w put away 
all the wicked of the earth like dross, (Psalm 119: 
1 19,) you shall be pronounced righteous in that full 
assembly; and though indeed you have broken the 



428 DEATH WELCOMED. 

divine law, and might in strict justice have been 
condemned, yet, being clothed with the righteousness 
of the great Redeemer, even " that righteousness 
which is of the great God by faith," (Phil. 3 : 9,) 
iustice itself shall acquit you, and join with mercy 
in "bestowing upon you a crown of life." 2 Tim. 4 : 
8. Christ will " confess you before men and angels." 
(Luke, 12: 8.) will pronounce you good and faithful 
servants, and call you to " enter into the joy of your 
Lord :" (Matt. 25 : 21,) he will speak of you with 
endearment as his brethren, and will acknowledge 
the kindnesses which have been shown to you, as it 
he had "received them in his own person." Matt. 
25 : 40. Yea, then shall you, O Christians ! who 
may perhaps have sat in some of the lowest places 
in our assemblies, to whom, it may be, none of the 
rich and great of the earth would condescend to 
speak ; then shall you be called to be assessors with 
Christ on his judgment-seat, and to join with him in 
the sentence he shall pass on wicked men and re- 
bellious angels. 

12. Nor is it merely one day of glory and tri- 
umph But when the Judge arises, and ascends to 
his Father's court, all the blessed shall ascend with 
him, and you among the rest: you shall ascend to- 
gether with your Savior, "to his Father and your 
Father, to his God and your God." John, 20 : 17. 
You shall go to make your appearance in the new 
Jerusalem, in those new shining forms that you have 



DEATH WELCOMED. 429 

received, which will no doubt be attended with a 
correspondent improvement of mind ; and take up 
your perpetual abode in that fullness of joy, with 
which you shall be filled and satisfied " in the pre- 
sence of God," (Psalm 16:11.) upon the consumma- 
tion of that happiness which the saints, in the inter- 
mediate state, have been wishing and waiting for. 
You shall go from the ruins of a dissolving world, 
to " the new heavens and new earth, wherein right- 
eousness forever dwells." 2 Pet. 3: 13. There all 
the number of God's elect shall be accomplished, and 
the happiness of each shall be completed. The whole 
society shall be " presented before God, as the bride, 
the Lamb's wife," (Rev. 21 : 9,) whom the eye Gf its 
celestial bridegroom shall survey with unutterable 
delight, and confess to be " without spot or wrinkle, 
or any such thing," (Eph. 5 : 27,) its character and 
state being just what he originally designed it to be, 
when he first engaged to " give himself for it, to re- 
deem it to God by his blood." Rev. 5:9. " So shall 
you ever be" with each other, and " with the Lord," 
(1 Thess. 4: 17,) and immortal ages shall roll 
away, and find you still unchanged : your happiness 
always the same, and your relish for it the same; 
or rather ever growing, as your souls are approach- 
ing nearer and nearer to Him who is the source of 
happiness, and the centre of infinite perfection. 

13. And now look round about upon earth, and 
single out, if } t ou can, the enjoyments or the hopes, 



430 DEATH WELCOMED. 

for the sake of which you would say, Lord, delay 
thy coming ; or for the sake of which you any more 
should hesitate to express your longing" for it, and 
to cry, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly !" 

The Meditation or Prayer of a Christian whose Heart is 
v: armed 'with thezc Prospects. 

" O blessed Lord ! my soul is enkindled with these 
views, and rises to thee in a flame." Judg. 13 : 20. 
Thou hast testified, thou comest quickly ; and I re- 
peat my joyful assent, " Amen, even so, come, Lord 
Jesus." Rev. 22 : 20. Come, for I long to have 
done with this low life ; to have done with its bur- 
dens, its sorrows, and its snares ! Come, for I long 
to ascend into thy presence, and to see the court 
thou art holding above. 

w Blessed Jesus, death is transformed, when I view 
it in this light. The king of terrors is seen no more 
as such, so near the King of Glory and of Grace. I 
hear with pleasure the sound of thy feet approaching 
still nearer and nearer. Draw aside the veil when- 
ever thou pleasest. Open the bars of my prison, that 
my eager soul may spring forth 'to thee, and cast 
itself at thy feet :' at the feet of that Jesus, ' whom, 
having not seen, I love,' and ' in whom, though now 
I see thee not, yet believing, I rejoice with joy un- 
speakable and full of glory.' 1 Pet. 1 : 8. Thou, 
Lord, ' shalt show me the path of life ;' thine hand 
shall guide me to thy blissful abode, where ' there 



DEATH WELCOMED. 431 

is fullness of joy, and rivers of everlasting pleasure. 
Psalm 16 : 11. Thou shalt assign me a habitation 
with thy faithful servants, whose separate spirits are 
now living with thee, while their bodies sleep in the 
dust. Many of them have been my companions in 
thy laborious work, and in the ' patience and tribu- 
lation of thy kingdom,' (Rev. 1:9,) my dear com- 
panions, and my brethren. O show me, blessed Sa- 
vior, how glorious and how happy thou hast made 
them. Show me to what new forms of better life thou 
hast conducted them whom we call the dead ! In 
what nobler and more extensive services thou hast 
employed them ! That I may praise thee belter than 
1 now can, for thy goodness to them. And O give 
me to share with them in their blessings and their 
services, and to raise a song of grateful love, like 
that which they are breathing forth before thee ! 

"Yet, O my blessed Redeemer! even there will 
my soul be aspiring to yet a nobler and more glori- 
ous hope ; and from this as yet unknown splendor 
and felicity shall I be drawing new arguments to 
look and long for the day of thy final appearance. 
There shall I long more ardently than I now do, to 
see thy conduct vindicated, and thy triumph display- 
ed ; to see the dust of thy servants re-animated, 
and ■ death, the last of their enemies and of thine, 
swallowed up in victory.' 1 Cor. 15 : 26, 54. I shall 
long for that superior honor that thou intendest me, 
and that complete bliss to which the whole body of 



432 DEATH WELCOMED. 

thy people shall be conducted. Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly, will mingle itself with the songs of 
paradise, and sound from the tongues of all the mil- 
lions of thy saints whom thy grace hath transplanted 
thither. 

" In the meantime, O my divine Master, accept 
the homage which a grateful heart now pays thee, 
in a sense of the glorious hopes with which thou 
hast inspired it ! It is thou that hast put this joy into 
it, and hast raised my soul to this glorious ambition ; 
whereas I might otherwise have now been grovel- 
ing in the lowest, trifles of time and sense, and been 
looking with horror on that hour which is now the 
object of my most ardent wishes. 

" O be with me always, even to the end of this 
mortal life. And give me, while waiting for thy sal- 
vation, to be doing thy commandments. May 'my 
loins be girded about, and my lamp burning,' (Luke, 
12 : 35,) and my ears be still watchful for the blessed 
signal of thine arrival ; that my glowing soul may 
with pleasure spring to meet thee, and be strength- 
ened by death to bear those visions of glory, undei 
the ecstacies of which feeble mortality would now 
expire P 






THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 433 



CHAPTER XXX. 



THE CHRISTIAN HONORING GOD BY HIS DYING EEHAYIOR. 

i . Reflections on the sincerity tvith vjhich the preceding counsel 
has been given. — 2, 3. The author is desirous that (if Pro- 
vidence permit) he may assist the Christian to die honorably 
and comfortably. — 4. With this view, it is advised — to rid 
the mind of all earthly cares. — 5. To renew the humiliation 
of the soul before God, and its application to the blood of 
Christ. — 6. To exercise patience under bodily pains and sor- 
rows. — 7. At leaving the world, to bear an honorable testi- 
mony to religion. — 8. To give a solemn charge to surviving 
friends. — 9. especially recommending faith in Christ. — 10, 
11. To keep the promises of God in view. — 12. And to com- 
mit the departing spirit to God, in the genuine exercises of 
gratitude and repentance, faith and charity, which are exem- 
plified in the concluding meditation and prayer. 

I. Thus, my dear reader, I have endeavored to 
?ead you through a variety of circumstances, and 
those not fancied or imaginary, but such as do in- 
deed occur in the human and Christian life. And I 
can truly and cheerfully say, that I have marked out 
to you the path which I myself have trod, and in 
which it is my desire still to go on. I have ventured 
my own everlasting interests on that foundation on 
which I have directed you to adventure yours. 
What I have recommended as the grand business of 

37 R. &. Progress. 



434 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

your life, I desire to make the business of my own; 
and the most considerable enjoyments which I ex- 
pect or desire in the remaining days of my pilgrim- 
age on earth, are such as I have directed you to seek, 
and endeavored to assist you in attaining. Such love 
to God, such constant activity in his service, such 
pleasurable views of what lies beyond the grave, 
appear to me (God is my witness) a felicity incom- 
parably beyond any thing else which can offer itself 
to our affection and pursuit ; and I would not for ten 
thousand worlds resign my share in them, or consent 
even to the suspension of the delights which they 
afford, during the remainder of my abode here. 

2. I would humbly hope, through the divine 
blessing, that the hours you have spent in the review 
of these plain things, may have turned to some pro- 
fitable account; and that, in consequence of what 
you have read, you have been either brought into 
the way of life and peace, or been induced to quick- 
en your pace in it. Most heartily should I rejoice 
in being further useful to you, and that even to the 
last. Now there is one scene remaining, a scene 
through which you must infallibly pass, which has 
something in it so awful, that I cannot but attempt 
doing a little to assist you in it : I mean the dark Val- 
ley of the Shadow of Death. I could earnestly wish, 
that, for the credit of your profession, the comfort 
of your own soul, and the joy and edification of your 
surviving friends, you might die, not only safely, but 






THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 435 

honorably too ; and therefore 1 would offer you some 
parting advice. I am sensible, indeed, that Provi- 
dence may determine the circumstances of your 
death in such a manner, as that you may have no 
opportunity of acting upon the hints I now give you. 
Some unexpected accident from without, or from 
within, may, as it were, whirl you to heaven before 
you are aware ; and you may find yourself so sud- 
denly there, that it may seem a translation rather 
than a death. Or it is possible the force of a distem- 
per may affect your understanding in such a manner, 
that you may be quite insensible of the circumstan- 
ces in which you are; and so your dissolution 
(though others may see it visibly and certainly ap- 
proaching) may be as great a surprise to you as if 
you had died in full health. 

3. But as it is, on the whole, probable you may 
have a more sensible passage out of time into eter- 
nity, and as much may. in various respects, depend 
on your dying behavior, give me leave to propose 
some plain directions with relation to it, to be prac- 
ticed, if God give you opportunity, and remind you 
of them. It may not be improper to look over the 
29th chapter again, when you find the symptoms of 
any threatening disorder. And I the rather hope that 
what I say may be useful to you, as methinks I find 
myself disposed to address you with something of 
that peculiar tenderness which we feel for a dying 
friend ; to whom, as we expect that we shall speak 



43G THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

to him no more, we send out, as it were, all our 
hearts in every word. 

4. I would advise, then, in the first place, "that, 
as soon as possible, you would endeavor to get rid of 
all further care with regard to your temporal con- 
cerns, by settling them in time, in as reasonable and 
Christian a manner as you can." I could wish there 
may be nothing of that kind to hurry your mind 
when you are least able to bear it, or to distress or 
divide those who come after you. Do that which in 
the presence of God you judge most equitable, and 
which you verily believe will be most pleasing to 
him. Do it in as prudent and effectual a manner as 
you can ; and then consider the world as a place you 
have quite done with, and its affairs as nothing fur- 
ther to you, mere than to one actually dead, unless 
as you may do any good to its inhabitants while yet 
you continue among them, and may, by any circum- 
stance in your last actions or words in life, leave a 
blessing behind you to those who have been your 
friends and fellow-travelers, while you have been 
despatching that journey through it which you are 
now finishing. 

5. That you may be the more at leisure, and the 
better prepared for this, " enter into some serious 
review of your own state, and endeavor to put your 
isoul into as fit a posture as possible for your solemn 
appearance before God." For a solemn thing indeed 
it i.s, to go into his immediate presence ; to stand 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 43/ 

before him, not as a supplicant at the throne of his 
grace, bat at his bar as a separate spirit, whose time 
of probation is over, and whose eternal state is to be 
immediately determined. Renew your humiliation 
before God for the imperfections of your life, though 
it has, in the main, been devoted to his service. Re- 
new your application to the mercies of God as pro- 
mised in the covenant of grace, and to the blood of 
Christ as the blessed channel in which they flow. 
Resign yourself entirely to the divine disposal and 
conduct, as willing to serve God, either in this world 
or the other, as he shall see fit. And sensible of your 
sinfulness on the one hand, and of the divine wisdom 
and goodness on the other, summon up all the forti- 
tude of your soul to bear, as well as you can, what- 
ever his afflicting hand may further lay upon you, 
and to receive the last stroke of it, as one who would 
maintain the most entire subjection to the great and 
good Father of spirits. 

6. Whatever you suffer, endeavor to show " your- 
self an example of patience." Let that amiable grace 
" have its perfect work ;" (James, 1 : 4,) and since 
it has so little more to do, let it close the scene nobly. 
Let there not be a murmuring word ; and that there 
may not, watch against every repining thought. And 
when you feel any thing of that kind arising, look 
by faith upon a dying Savior, and ask your own 
heart, " Was not his cross much more painful than 
the bed on which I lie ? Was not his situation 

r. p. 37* 



438 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

among- blood-thirsty enemies, infinitely more terrible 
than mine amidst the tenderness and care of so many 
affectionate friends ? Did not the heavy load of my 
sins press him in a much more overwhelming man- 
ner than I am pressed by the load of these afflic- 
tions? And yet he bore all, 'as a lamb that is 
brought to the slaughter. 5 " Isaiah, 53 : 7. Let the 
remembrance of his sufferings be a means to sweeten 
yours ; yea, let it cause you to rejoice, when you 
are called to bear the cross for a little while, before 
you wear the crown. Count it all joy, that you 
have an opportunity yet once more of honoring God 
by your patience, which is now acting its last part, 
and will, in a few days, and perhaps in a few hours, 
be superseded by complete, everlasting blessedness. 
And I am willing to hope, that in these views you 
will not only suppress all passionate complaints, but 
that your mouth will be filled with the praises of 
God ; and that you will be speaking to those who 
are about you, not only of his justice, but of his 
goodness too. So that you will be enabled to com- 
municate your inward joys in such a manner as 
may be a lively and edifying comment upon those 
words of the Apostle, " Tribulation worketh pa- 
tience ; and patience, experience ; and experience, 
hope; even a hope which maketh not ashamed, 
while the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." Rom. 
*": 3-5. 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 439 

7, And now, my dear friend, " now is the time, 
when it is especially expected from you, that you 
bear an honorable testimony to religion." Tell 
those that are about you, as well as you can, (for 
you will never be able fully to express it,) what 
comfort and support you have found in it. Tell them 
how it has brightened the darkest circumstances of 
your life : tell them how it now reconciles you to 
the near views of death. Your words will carry with 
them a peculiar weight at such a season : there will 
be a kind of eloquence, even in the infirmities with 
which you are struggling, while you give them 
utterance ; and you will be heard with attention, 
with tenderness, with credit. And therefore, when the 
time of your departure is at hand, with unaffected 
freedom breathe out your joy, if you then feel (as I 
hope you will) a holy joy and delight in God. 
Breathe out, however, your inward peace and sere- 
nity of mind, if you be then peaceful and serene : 
others will mark it, and be encouraged to tread the 
steps which lead to so happy an end. Tell them 
what you feel of the vanity of the world, and they 
may learn to regard it less. Tell them what you feel 
of the substantial supports of the Gospel, and they 
may learn to value it more ; for they cannot but know 
that they must lie down on a dying-bed too, and must 
then need all the relief which the Gospel itself can 
give them. 

8. And to enforce the conviction the more, " give 



410 THE DYINO CHRISTIAN. 

a solemn charge to those that are about you, that 
they spend their lives in the service of God, and 
govern themselves by the principles of real reli- 
gion." You may remember that Joshua and Da- 
vid, and other good men did so, when they perceiv- 
ed that the days drew near in which they should 
die. And you know not how the admonitions of a 
dying friend, or (as it may be with respect to some) 
of a dying parent, may impress those who may have 
disregarded what you and others may have said to 
them before. At least, make the trial, and die, la- 
boring to glorify God, to save souls, and generously 
to sow the seeds of goodness and happiness in a 
world where you have no more harvest to reap. 
Perhaps they may spring up in a plentiful crop, 
when the clods of the valley are covering your bo- 
dy : but if not, God will approve it ; and the angels 
that wait around your bed to receive your departing 
soul will look upon each other with marks of ap- 
probation in their countenance, and own that this is 
to expire like a Christian, and to make a glorious 
improvement of mortality. 

9. And in this last address to your fellow-mortals, 
whoever they are that Providence brings near you, 
M be sure that you tell them how entirely and how 
cheerfully your hopes and dependence in this sea- 
son of the last extremity are fixed, not upon your 
own merits and obedience, but on what the great 
Redeemer has done and has suffered for sinners." 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 441 

Let them see that you die, as it were, at the foot of 
the cross : nothing will be so comfortable to your- 
self, nothing so edifying to them. Let the name of 
Jesus, therefore, be in your mouth while you are 
able to speak, and when you can speak no longer, 
let it be in your heart ; and endeavor that the last 
act of your soul, while it continues in the body, may 
be an act of humble faith in Christ. Come unto 
God by him : enter into that which is within the 
veil, as with the blood of sprinkling fresh upon you. 
It is an awful thing for such a sinner (as you, my 
Christian friend, with all the virtues the world may 
have admired, know yourself to be,) to stand before 
that infinitely pure and holy Being who has seen 
all your ways, and all your heart, and has a perfect 
knowledge of every mixture of imperfection which 
has attended the best of your duties : but venture in 
that way, and you will find it both safe and pleasant. 
10. Once more, li to give you comfort in a dying 
hour, and to support your feeble steps while you are 
traveling through this dark and painful way, take 
the word of God as a staff in your hand." Let books, 
and mortal friends, now do their last office for you. 
Call, if you can, some experienced Christian, who 
has felt the power of the word of God upon his own 
heart, and let him bring the Scripture, and turn you 
to some of those precious promises which have been 
the food and rejoicing of his own soul. It is with 
this view that I may carry the good office I am 



442 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

now engaged in as far as possible, that I shall here 
give you a collection of a few such admirable scrip- 
tures, each of them " infinitely more valuable than 
thousands of gold and silver." Psalm 119 : 72. 
And to convince you of the degree in which I es- 
teem them, I will take the freedom to add, that I de- 
sire they may (if God give an opportunity) be read 
over to me, as I lie on my dying bed, with short in- 
tervals between them, that I may pause upon each, 
and renew something of that delightful relish which, 
I bless God, I have often found in them. May your 
soul and mine be then composed to a sacred silence, 
(whatever be the commotion of animal nature,) while 
the voice of God speaks to us in the language which 
he spake to his servants of old, or in which he in- 
structed them how they should speak to him in cir- 
cumstances of the greatest extremity! 

1 1. Can any more encouragement be wanting, when 
he says, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dis- 
mayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, 
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right 
hand of my righteousness?" Isaiah, 41 : 10. And 
" he is not man that he should lie, or the son of man 
that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not 
do it ? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it 
good?" Numb. 23 : 19. " The Lord is my light 
and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is 
the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid ?" 
Psalm 27 : 1. " This God is our God for ever and 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 443 

ever : he will be our guide even unto death." Psalm 
48 : 14. Therefore, "though I walk through the 
valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; 
for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they com- 
fort me." Psalm 23 : 4. "I have waited for thy 
salvation, O Lord." Gen. 49 : 18. "0 continue thy 
loving-kindness unto them that know thee, and thy 
righteousness to the upright in heart ! For with thee 
is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see 
light." Psalm 36: 9, 10. "Thou wilt show me 
the path of life ; in thy presence is fullness of joy, at 
thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
Psalm 16 : 11. " As for me, I shall behold thy 
face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I 
awake with thy likeness." Psalm 17: 15. "For 
I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded 
that he is able to keep what I have committed to 
him until that day." 2 Tim. 1 : 12. " Therefore 
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; my flesh 
also shall rest in hope." Psalm 16 : 9. "For if we 
believe that Jesus died, and rose again ; those also 
that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 
Thess. 4:14. "I give unto my sheep eternal life," 
said Jesus, the good Shepherd, " and they shall ne- 
ver perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my 
hand." John, 10 : 28. " This is the will of him that 
sent me, that every one that believeth on me should 
have everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at 
the last day." John, 6 : 40. " Let not your heart be 



444 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In 
my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were 
not so, I would have told you : I go to prepare a 
place for you ; and if I go and prepare a place for 
you, I will come again, and receive you to myself, 
that where I am, there ye may be also." John, 14 : 
1-3. " Go tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Fa- 
ther and your Father, and to my God and your 
God." John, 20: 17. "Father, I will that they 
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, 
that they may behold my glory which thou hast 
given me ; that the love wherewith thou hast loved 
me, may be in them, and I in them." John, 17 : 24. 
26. "He that testifieth these things saith, " Surely 
I come quickly ; Amen : even so come, Lord Jesus." 
Rev. 22 : 20. " O death, where is thy sting ? O 
grave, where is thy victory 1 Thanks be to God, 
who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ!" 1 Cor. 15 : 55, 57. 

12. Thus may that God, who "knows the souls 
of his children in all their adversities," (Psalm, 31 : 
7,) and in " whose sight the death of his saints is 
precious," (Psalm, 116 : 15,) cheer and support you 
and me in those last extremities of nature ! May he 
add us to the happy number of those who have been 
more than conquerors in death ! And may he give 
us those supplies of his Spirit which may enable us 
to pour out our departing souls in such sentiments 
as those I would now suggest, though we should 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 445 

be no longer able to utter words, or to understand 
them if they were read to us. Let us, at least, re- 
view them with all proper affections now, and lay 
ap one prayer more for that awful moment. O that 
this, and all we have ever offered with regard to it, 
may then "come to remembrance before Godl" 
Acts, 10: 4, 31. 

A Meditation, or Prayer, suited to the case of a Dying 
Christian. 

" O thou supreme Ruler of the visible and invisi- 
ble worlds! thou Sovereign of life and of death, of 
earth and of heaven, blessed be thy name, I have 
often been taught to seek thee. And now once more 
do I pour out my soul, my departing soul unto thee. 
4 Bow down thy gracious ear, O God ! and let my 
cry come before thee with acceptance.' 

" The hour is come, when thou wilt separate me 
from this world, with which I have been so long and 
so familiarly acquainted, and lead me to another, as 
yet unknown. Enable me, I beseech thee, to make 
the exchange as becomes a child of Abraham, who 
being 'called of thee to receive an inheritance, 
obeyed and went out,' though he knew not particu- 
larly whither he went: (Heb. 11 : 8.) as becomes 
a child of God, who knows that, through sovereign 
grace, * it is his Father's good pleasure to give him 
the kingdom.' Luke, 12 : 32. 

og It. & Progress, 



446 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

1 I acknowledge, O Lord! the justice of that sen- 
tence by which I am expiring! and own thy wisdom 
and goodness in appointing my journey through 
this gloomy vale which is now before me. Help me 
to turn it into the happy occasion of honoring thee, 
and adorning my profession ! and I will bless the 
pangs by which thou art glorified, and this mortal 
and sinful part of my nature dissolved. 

'' Gracious Father ! I would not quit this earth of 
thine, and this house of clay, in which I have so- 
journed during my abode upon the face of it, with- 
out my grateful acknowledgments to thee for all 
that abundant goodness which thou hast caused to 
pass before me here : (Exod. 33 : 19.) with my dy- 
ing breath I bear witness to thy faithful care : I 
have 'wanted no good thing.' Psalm 34 : 10. 1 
thank thee, O my God ! that this guilty, forfeited, 
unprofitable life, was so long spared ; that it hath 
still been maintained by such a rich variety of thy 
bounty. I thank thee that thou hast made this be- 
ginning of my existence so pleasant to me. I thank 
thee for the mercies of my days and nights, of my 
months and years, which are now come to their pe- 
riod : I thank thee for the mercies of my infancy, 
and for those of my riper age ; for all the agreeable 
friends which thou hast given me in this house of 
my pilgrimage, ' the living and the dead ;' for all 
the help I have received from others, and for all 
opportunities which thou hast given me of being 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 447 

helpful to the bodies and souls of my brethren of 
mankind. ' Surely goodness and mercy have fol- 
lowed me all the days of my life,' (Psalm 23 : 6,) 
and I have reason to rise a thankful guest from the 
various and pleasant entertainments with which my 
table has been furnished by thee. Nor, shall I have 
reason to repine, or to grieve at quitting them ; for, 
O my God ! are thy bounties exhausted ? I know 
that they are not. I will not wrong thy goodness 
and thy faithfulness so much as to imagine, that, 
because I am going from this earth, 1 am going 
from happiness. I adore thy mercy, that thou hast 
taught me to entertain nobler views through Jesus 
thy Son. I bless thee with all the powers of my na- 
ture, that I ever heard his name, and heard of his 
death ; and would fain exert a more vigorous act of 
thankful adoration than in this broken state I am 
capable of, while I am extolling thee for the riches 
of thy grace manifested in him, for his instructions 
and his example, for his blood and his righteous- 
ness, and for that blessed Spirit of thine which thou 
hast given me, to turn my sinful heart unto thyself, 
and to bring me ' into the bonds of thy covenant,' of 
that covenant which • is ordered in all things and 
sure,' (2 Sam. 23 : 5,) and which this death, though 
now separating my soul from my body, shall never 
be able to dissolve. 

" I bless thee, O Lord ! that I am not dying in an 
anregenerate and impenitent state ; but that thou 



448 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

didst graciously awaken and convince me, that thou 
didst renew and sanctify my heart, and didst, by thy 
good Spirit, work in it an unfeigned faith, a real re- 
pentance, and the beginning of a divine life. I thank 
thee for faithful ministers and for gospel ordinances: 

1 thank thee for my Sabbaths and seasons of com- 
munion at the table of my Lord ; and for the weekly 
and monthly refreshments which they gave me. I 
thank thee for the fruits of Canaan which were sent 
me in the wilderness, and are now sent me on tha 
brink of Jordan. I thank thee for thy blessed word, 
and for those exceeding rich and precious promises 
of it, which now lie, as a cordial, warm at my heart 
in this chilling hour : promises of support in death, 
and of glory beyond it, and of the resurrection of my 
body to everlasting life. O my God ! I firmly be- 
lieve them all, great and wonderful as they are, and 
am waiting for the accomplishment of them through 
Jesus Christ ; ' in whom they are all Yea and Amen.' 

2 Cor. 1 : 20. ' Remember thy word unto thy ser- 
vant, on which thou hast caused me to hope.' Psalm 
119 : 49. I covenanted with thee, not only for 
worldly enjoyments, which thy love taught me com- 
paratively to despise ; but for eternal life, as ' the 
gift of thy free grace through Jesus Christ my 
Lord ;' (Rom. 6 : 28,) and now permit me, in his 
name, to enter my humble claim to it. Permit me 
to consign i this departing spirit to thine hand ; for 
thou hast redeemed it O Lord God of truth !' Psalm 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 449 

31:5. 1 1 am thine : save me,' and make me happy ! 
Psalm 119 : 94. 

" But may I indeed presume to say I am thine ? 
God ! now I am standing on the borders of both 
worlds, now I view things as in the light of thy pre- 
sence and of eternity, how unworthy do I appear 
that I should be taken to dwell with thy angels and 
saints in glory ! Alas ! I have reason to look back 
with deep humiliation on a poor, unprofitable, sinful 
life, in which I have daijy been deserving to be cast 
into hell. But I have this one comfortable reflection, 
that I have fled to the cross of Christ ; and I now 
renew my application to it. To think of appearing 
before God in such an imperfect righteousness as my 
own, were ten thousand times worse than death. 
No, Lord, I come unto thee as a sinner ; but as a 
sinner who has believed in thy Son for pardon and 
life : I fall down before thee as a guilty, polluted 
wretch ; but thou hast made him to be unto thy peo- 
ple for ' wisdom and righteousness, for sanctification 
and redemption.' 1 Cor. 1 : 30. Let me have my lot 
among the followers of Jesus ! Treat me, as thou 
treatest those who are his friends and his brethren ! 
For thou knowest my soul has loved him and trusted 
in him, and solemnly ventured itself on the security 
of his Gospel. And ' I know in whom I have believ- 
ed.' 2 Tim. 1 : 12. The infernal lion may attempt 
to dismay me in the awful passage ; but I rejoice 
that I am 'in the hands of the good Shepherd,' (John, 
38* 



450 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 

10: 11, 28,) and I defy all my spiritual enemies, in 
a cheerful dependence on his faithful care. I lift up 
my eyes and my heart to him, who ' was dead and is 
alive again ; and behold he Jiveth for evermore, and 
hath the keys of death and of the unseen world.' 
Rev. 1:18. Blessed Jesus, I die by thine hand, and 
I fear no harm from the hand of a Savior ! I fear 
not that death which is allotted to me by the hand of 
my dearest Lord, who himself died to make it safe 
and happ3^. I come, Lord, I come, not only with a 
willing, but with a joyful consent. I thank thee that 
thou rememberest me for good ; that thou art break- 
ing my chains, and calling me to 'the glorious lib- 
erty of the children of God.' Rom. 8: 21. I thank 
thee, that thou wilt no longer permit me to live at a 
distance from thine arms ; but, after this long ab- 
sence, wilt have me at home, at home for ever. 

44 My feeble nature faints in the view of that glory 
which is now dawning upon me ; but thou knowest, 
gracious Lord, how to let it in upon my soul by just 
degrees, and to ' make thy strength perfect in my 
weakness.' 2 Cor. 7:9. Once more, for the last 
time, would I look down on this poor world which 
I am going to quit, and breathe out my dying pTayer 
for its prosperity, and that of thy church in it. I have 
loved it, O Lord ! as a living member of the body ; 
and I love it to the last. I humbly beseech thee, 
therefore, that thou wilt guard it, and purify it, and 
unite it more and more. Send down more of thy 



THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 451 

blessed Spirit upon it, even the Spirit of wisdom, of 
holiness, and of love ; till in due time ' the wilderness 
be turned into the garden of the Lord,' (Isa. 51:3,) 
and ' all flesh shall see thy salvation !' Luke, 3 : 6. 
" As for me, bear me, O my heavenly Father i on 
the wings of everlasting love, to that peaceful, that 
holy, that joyous abode, which thy mercy has pre- 
pared for me, and which the blood of my Redeemer 
has purchased ! Bear me ' to the general assembly 
and church of the first-born, to the innumerable 
company of angels, and to the spirits of just men 
made perfect.' Heb. 12 : 22, 23. And whatever this 
flesh may suffer, let my steady soul be delightfully 
fixed on that glory to which it is rising ! Let faith 
perform its last office in an honorable manner ! Let 
my few remaining moments on earth be spent for 
thy glory, and so let mc ascend, with love in my 
heart, and praise on my faltering tongue, to the 
world where love and praise shall be complete ! Be 
this my last song on earth, which I am going to 
tune in heaven : ■ Blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, 
and to the Lamb for ever and ever.' Amen I" 



Dr. Doddridge was born in London, June 26, 1702. He 
was of a consumptive habit from infancy, was brought up in 
the early knowledge of religion, and was left an orphan be- 
fore he arrived at the age of 14. At 16 he made a profes- 



452 sketch of the authors lite. 

sion of religion ; at 20 commenced preaching the Gospel , 
and at 21 was settled over a small congregation, in an ob- 
scure village, where he devoted himself to the acquisition 
of useful knowledge with indefatigable zeal. At 27 he was 
removed to the pastoral care of the church in Northampton, 
where, for 22 years, amidst other diversified labors, he acted 
as an instructor of youth preparing for the ministry, having 
had under his charge, during that period, upwards of 200 
young men. At the age of 37 and 38 he published two vo- 
lumes of his Family Expositor ; and about the age of 43 
wrote " The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." At 
46 he published the third volume of the Family Expositor, 
and two Dissertations. — 1. On Sir Isaac Newton's System 
of the Harmony. 2. On the Inspiration of the New Testa- 
ment. In December, 1750, in the 49th' year of his age, he 
went to St. Albans and preached the funeral sermon of his 
early patron and benefactor, Dr. Clark, in which journey 
he contracted a cold that laid the foundation for his death. 
In July, 1751, he addressed his flock for the last time from 
the pulpit; and having found all medical aid ineffectual, 
embarked, in October, for Lisbon, as the last resort in so 
threatening a disorder, at which place he died on the 26th 
of October, aged 49 years. 

He was not handsome in person ; was very thin and slen- 
der, in stature somewhat above the middle size, with a 
stoop in his shoulders ; but when engaged in conversation, 
or employed in the pulpit, there was a remarkable spright- 
liness in his countenance and manner, which commanded 
general attention. 



This volume is stereotyped and perpetuated, through the 
liberality of Col. Henry Rutgers and Col. Richard Varick, 
of New-York; Nicholas Brown, Esq. of Providence; and 
Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany. 



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